PRINCETON,    N.    J.  '^' 


'^ 


Presented  by  Mr.  Samuel  Agnew  of  Philadelphia,  Pa. 


soe 


A^neiv  Coll.  on  Baptism,  No. 


':>^^^U\^' 


A  NEW  TREATISE 


REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM. 


Jesus  answered,  Verily,  verily,  I  say  unto  thee,  Except  a  man  be  born  of 
water  and  of  the  Spirit,  he  cannot  enter  Into  the  kingdom  of  God. 

St.  John,  ill.  5. 


WILLIAM  ^'ADAMS,    D.D., 

P)-ofessor  of  Systematic  Divinity  in  Nashotah  Tfieological  Seminary,  Wisconsin. 


M,  H.  MALLORY  AND  COMPANY,  HARTFORD,  CONN. 
1871. 


Entered,  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1871,  by 

WILLIAM  ADAMS,  D.D., 
In  the  Office  of  the  Librarian  of  Congress,  at  Washington. 


H.    H.   MALLORY    .t    CO. 

raiNTBRS    AND    ELECTROTYPEBS, 

HARTFORD,   CONN-, 


TO    THB 

RIGHT  REVEREND 

WILJLIAM  MOIjJLIWBON    WMITTIWGMAM,   JD.D., 

Bislnop    of  nVEaryland., 

THIS  BOOK, 

IN  DEFENCE  OF  A  8CKIPTTJRAL  AND  MOST  PKECIOTJS  DOCTRINE  OF 

THE  ONE  HOLT  CATHOLIC  AND  APOSTOLIC 

TO    WHICH    HE    HAS    SO    CONSISTENTLY    AND    ITNSPARINGLT    DKTOTED    HIS    WHOLE    LIFE    AND 

THOUGHT, 

BEGUN    AT    HIS    INSTANCE,    AND    CARRIED    ON    TO    COMPLETION 

UNDER  HIS  ADVICE  AND  ENCOURAGEMENT,  IS 


5lffrrtinnnttlt|  DrliirntBli: 


BT 
HIS      LOVING      FKIEND      AND      PUPIL, 

THE    A.UTHOB. 


\ 


Hr-         --  ^- 


»<tC.  APftlbbi  % 

JHSOLOGIOAL 


PEEFACE. 


The  object  of  this  book  is  to  bring  forth,  distinctly,  the 
doctrine  of  Regeneration  in  its  full  meaning  and  significance. 
For,  owing  to  the  fact  that  we  of  the  Church  are  yet  a 
minority  in  this  land,  and  our  doctrine  upon  this  matter  has 
been  so  misepresented  and  misunderstood  as  to  cause  disturb- 
ance and  confusion  even  among  ourselves,  systems  that  are 
utterly  hostile  to  us  and  our  standards  have  got  possession 
of  the  public  mind.  And,  therefore,  we  are  loaded  down  and 
overborne  with  prejudices  and  misconstructions.  The  very 
name  of  Baptismal  Regeneration  is  by  this  means  made  odious 
and  hateful. 

This  volume,  therefore,  is  intended — especially  for  those 
within  the  Church — fully  to  assert,  to  explain,  to  prove  our 
doctrine ;  to  show  that  it  is  the  most  Scriptural  and  the  most 
practical,  the  most  lovely  of  all  doctrines  in  its  effects  upon 
the  Christian  life. 

I  would  induce  our  own  people  to  weigh  and  understand 
our  own  doctrine ;  to  examine  the  evidence  which  our  stand- 
ards bear  to  it,  and  the  testimony  to  their  meaning  and  pur- 
port of  men  of  education  and  great  ability,  both  within  and 
without  the  Church ;  to  consider  its  harmony  and  accordance 
with  all  the  doctrines  of  the  faith,  its  Scriptural  truth,  and  its 
most  efficient  and  telling  infiuence  as  applied  spiritually  to 
human  life.     For  these  purposes  I  have  written  this  volume. 


VI  PREFACE. 

And,  whilst  I  know  that  our  sj^stem  is  distinctly  one,  and 
that  of  Calvin  another,  I  would  apprise  my  readers  that  my 
business  is  not  controversy,  hut  exposition, — not  to  assail  the 
opinion  of  others,  but  to  explain  and  vindicate  our  own.  My 
effort  in  this  treatise,  in  fact,  is  to  draw  forth  into  clear  conscious- 
ness the  doctrines  of  the  Church,  not  to  attack  those  of  others. 
Only,  therefore,  incidentally  do  I  mention  the  systems  of  those 
who  are  not  with  us.  And  I  have  no  doubt  that  they  who 
go  along  with  me  will  find  that  in  our  standards,  in  the  Script- 
ures, in  the  opinions  of  the  ablest  and  the  best,  the  doctrine 
that  we  are  in  our  baptism  new  born  unto  God,  is  most  genu- 
ine and  most  true. 

And,  furthermore,  I  tell  them  that  they  will  find  in  this  doc- 
trine, and  in  the  principles  that  naturally  and  directly  flow 
from  it,  the  fountain  and  the  healing  waters  of  a  high  spiritual 
morality  of  which  the  world  has  not  seen  the  like  since  the 
days  of  Constantine.  I  say  that  in  the  doctrine  of  Baptismal 
Regeneration  are  to  be  found — for  parents  and  children,  for 
husbands  and  wives,  for  brothers  and  sisters,  for  mortal  men  and 
women,  in  all  the  relations  of  the  family,  the  nation,  and  the 
Church — the  roots  and  elements  of  a  Christianity  so  true  and 
genuine,  so  lovely  and  tender,  so  pure  and  holy,  that  the  world 
has  not  seen  the  like  for  fourteen  hundred  years.  With  these 
convictions  fully  and  distinctly  held,  I  ask  from  my  readers 
a  patient  and  careful  consideration  of  a  doctrine  which  is  evi- 
dently on  the  face  of  the  Book  of  Common  Prayer,  and  which 
makes  these  claims,  and  promises  these  results. 

W.  A. 

Nashotah,  October  4,  1871. 


OOlNrTEE"TS. 


PRELIMINARY   CHAPTER. 

The  state  of  the  question. — There  are  three  separate  and  distinct  sys- 
tems upon  the  doctrine  of  Regeneration. — The  Anglican,  or  Prim- 
itive and  Catholic,  the  Calvinist,  and  that  founded  upon  the  dogma 
of  Luther. — Wherein  these  agree. — Wherein  they  differ. — Calvin- 
ism and  Calvinists  in  England. — Their  career. — All  these  systems 
are  here,  in  this  New  World,  to  be  discussed  on  their  own  merits. 
— Hopes,  in  this  fact,  for  the  Gospel  in  this  New  World. — The 
Anglican  system  laid  out. — The  Calvinist  system  also. — Sacra- 
ments and  the  Church. — The  doctrine  of  Justification ;  its  relation 
to  that  of  Regeneration. — Prejudices  against  the  doctrine  of  Re- 
generation in  Baptism. — Their  effect  upon  us. — Plan  of  this  treatise. 
— The  first  book  ;  our  Standards  :  the  Creeds ;  the  Baptismal  Ser- 
vices ;  the  Catechism ;  the  Confirmation  Service  ;  the  Articles. — 
The  doctrine  of  Regeneration  is  shown,  in  their  own  words,  to  be 
in  them. — Second  book  :  the  practical  truth  and  fact  of  the  doctrine 
of  Regeneration  in  Baptism,  and  its  harmony  with  the  whole  body 
of  Scripture  doctrine  and  with  the  system  of  God's  providence 
and  man's  existence  in  this  world. — The  third  book :  the  exegesis 
of  the  doctrine  and  truth  according  to  the  words  and  tenor  of 
Holy  Writ 


BOOK  FIRST.— OUR   STANDARDS. 
CHAPTER   I. 

Our  Standard  of  Faith  and  Doctrine  is  the  Book  of  Common  Prayer, 
and  its  contents. — The  method  of  this  treatise  is  to  spread  upon 
our  pages,  before  our  readers'  eyes,  its  very  words. — Liturgic  wor- 
ship and  extempore  prayer  compared  in  view  of  doctrinal  distinct- 


Vm  CONTENTS. 

ness  and  definiteness. — Our  prayers  are,  in  fact,  Articles  of  Faitli,  to 
priest  and  people,  old  and  young. — Examples  in  the  Litany. — The 
Collects ;  their  origin  and  beautiful  effect. — The  effect  of  Liturgic 
Services  in  producing  uniformity  of  doctrine,  when  they  are  in  the 
tongue  of  the  people. — In  the  Prayer  Book  our  Standards  are  :  1st, 
the  Creeds,  Nicene  and  Apostolic ;  2nd,  the  Church  Services — 
doctrinal  influences  of  these — their  weight  and  power ;  3rd,  the 
Church  Catechism — Its  peculiar  doctrinal  position  and  influence ; 
4th,  the  Articles. — The  Prayer  Book  our  fourfold  cord. — The  doc- 
trine of  Eegeneration  in  Baptism  is  the  doctrine  of  this  book  in  all 
its  parts. — We  place  the  evidence  of  this  fact  before  our  readers' 
eyes. — We  also  give  the  testimony  of  men  of  great  character  and 
ability,  eloquence  and  learning. — The  evidence  of  Henry  Melvill ; 
of  John  Foster;  of  W.  Gresley;  of  Albert  Barnes;  of  the  well- 
known  Mr.  Spurgeon  of  London. — All  these  testify  that  Baptismal 
Regeneration  is  the  doctrine  of  the  Prayer  Book  and  the  Church. .     31 


CHAPTER  II. 

The  Nicene  Creed :  its  testimony  to  our  doctrine. — The  Scriptures  assert 
the  same  verbatim. — The  Baptismal  Offices. — Their  solemn  and 
public  nature,  and  the  meaning  and  effect  of  this  fact. — Three 
Ofiices  of  Baptism  in  the  Book  of  Common  Prayer :  Public  Baptism 
of  Infants  in  the  church ;  Private  Baptism  of  Infants  in  houses ; 
and  the  Office  of  Baptism  for  those  of  riper  years. — The  declarations 
of  these  Services  spread  upon  our  pages,  and  commented  upon. — 
Evidence,  at  length,  as  to  the  meaning  and  purport  of  these 
Offices,  of  the  English  Evangelicals,  Mr.  Simeon  and  Archbishop 
Sumner,  also  of  the  celebrated  Mr.  John  Wesley. — Our  system. — 
The  value  of  consistency  in  our  clergy. — Baptism  a  reality. — Why 
men  deny  this. — The  reason  is  in  themselves  :  their  own  personal 
want  of  faith  in  various  doctrines  connected  with  Baptism,  or  else 
the  prejudice  with  which  they  approach  the  doctrine. — We  should 
be  consistent. — Value  of  a  true  faith,  and  a  true  life  upon  it 50 


CHAPTER  III. 

The  Catechism  :  its  testimony. — Calvinists  of  this  day  on  Sacraments. 
— Calvin  on  the  same. — Whitefield's  virulence  against  our  doctrine. 
— Bishop  Beveridge's  testimony  to  its  Scriptural  truth  and  beauty, 
from  his  Commentary  on  the  Catechism. — His  Sermons. — Jeremy 
Taylor. — Hooker. — His  character  and  genius. — His  testimony. — Dr. 
Barrow,  the  Master  of   Trinity. — His   genius   and  learning. — His 


CONTENTS. 

evidence  to  the  doctrine  of  Regeneration  in  Baptism. — Bishop  Ken. 
— His  evidence  from  his  "  Practice  of  Divine  Love." — His  Poem  on 
his  Baptism. — Tlie  whole  Catechism  is  based  upon  the  doctrine  of 
Regeneration  in  Baptism. — The  dislike  of  Calvinists  to  the  Cate- 
chism.— The  Confirmation  Service. — Our  doctrine  is  in  it  most 
plainly. — Evidence,  to  this  eifect,  of  the  Puritan  Divines  and  the 
English  Bishops  at  the  Savoy  Conference. — Calling  all  the  baptized 
regenerate,  absolutely  sinful  according  to  these  Puritans. — Arch- 
bishop Lawrence  and  Bishop  Bethell. — Archbishop  Cranmer,  the 
martyr  of  the  English  Reformation. — The  Bishop  of   Tasmania. . . 


CHAPTER  IV. 

The  Articles. — The  same  doctrine  in  them. — Some  disadvantages  under 
which  they  labor. — The  Declaration. — The  Latin  version. — The 
twenty-seventh  Article. — Bishop  Beveridge's  comment  upon  it. — Tes- 
timony, in  this  comment,  of  the  Primitive  Church  to  our  doctrine. — 
St.  John  Chrysostom. — St.  Athanasius. — St.  Basil. — St.  Justin  Mar- 
tyr.— Remarkable  identification  of  Baptism  and  Regeneration  in 
the  ninth  Article. — The  twenty-seventh  Article. — The  Bishop  of 
Ely's  testimony  that  the  Articles  contain  the  doctrine  as  the  rest 
of  the  Prayer  Book,  precisely. — The  Collect  for  Christmas  day. — 
Dr.  Waterland's  comment  on  it. — General  remarks  in  conclusion  of 
this  book. — The  doctrine  of  Regeneration  in  Baptism  runs  through 
all  the  Offices  of  the  Prayer  Book. — So  through  the  whole  of  the 
New  Testament. — Its  revelation  to  the  doctrine  of  the  Church. — 
Difficulties  met. — Summing  up  of  the  evidence  of  our  Standards. — 
Two  distinct  questions. — The  first,  that  which  is  discussed  in  this 
book,  of  the  meaning  and  interpretation  of  documents  that  are  of 
authority. — The  second,  of  their  truth. — This  first  question  only 
discussed  in  this  book. — The  verdict,  we  think,  must  be,  that 
whether  it  be  true  or  false.  Scriptural  or  unscriptural,  the  doctrine 
of  Regeneration  is  the  doctrine  of  the  Book  of  Common  Prayer. ...     97 


BOOK  SECOXD.— THE  PRACTICAL  TRUTH  AND 

FACT. 

CHAPTER  I. 

What  is  Regeneration,  and  what  does  it  imply  ? — 1st,  It  is  a  supernatural 
and   spiritual  change ;   2nd,  It  is  peculiarly  a  Christian  change ; 


CONTENTS. 

3rd,  Eegeneration  is  tlie  new  and  second  birth ;  therefore  analo- 
gous, in  some  degree,  to  the  first,  or  natural  birth. — Ideas,  then,  that 
belong  to  the  one  must,  in  some  degree,  belong  to  the  other. — There 
are,  then,  in  the  new  birth,  first,  a  life ;  second,  an  organization  for 
the  life  to  dwell  in  and  act  by  ;  and,  thirdly,  a  sphere  of  being  into 
which  the  new  born  or  regenerated  man  is  introduced. — What  life 
is. — The  natural  life  and  its  natural  sphere. — The  life  supernatural 
and  spiritual  is  the  life  of  Christ  in  us. — The  Church  of  God  on 
earth  is  its  sphere  of  existence. — Humanity  regenerated  through 
our  Lord  is  the  organization  in  which  it  dwells. — Conversion  is  not 
regeneration. — What  spiritual  nourishment  is  given  to  the  regen- 
erated man  in  the  Church  of  God. — Two  aspects  of  the  Church. — 
Bishop  Davenant  of  Salisbury  (a.d.  1421.)  on  the  new  life  in 
Christ 113 


CHAPTER   II. 

What  is  conversion  ? — As  distinctly  known  under  the  old  law  as  under 
Christ. — But  regeneration,  or  the  new  birth,  not  known  under  the 
Jewish  Dispensation — Nicodemus. — The  explanation  given  by  our 
Lord  to  him  is  not  that  the  new  birth  is  only  conversion. — The  idea 
of  a  new  life  given  us  in  Christ,  as  a  real  principle,  is  a  very  old 
idea  in  the  English  Church. — Thomas  Rogers,  on  the  Articles 
(a.d.  1586). — Bishop  Pearson,  on  the  Creed  (a.d.  1659). — The  nature 
and  position  of  the  first  man,  Adam. — This  idea  of  the  primeval 
man  before  the  thought  of  all  men,  and  employed,  even  now,  in 
science,  by  men  of  the  highest  genius. — But  man  fell ;  was 
degraded  in  type  and  his  position. — Hence  all  men  are  in  this 
state  as  children  of  the  first  Adam,  and  in  his  nature. — All  men,  one 
only  excepted. — The  second  Adam :  His  works  for  man. — The 
Church  :  its  uses  in  the  system  of  the  Gospel 129 


CHAPTER  III. 

Man's  condition  at  this  time. — Two  extremes. — The  first,  man  as  born 
naturally  upon  this  earth. — The  second,  man  as  reigning  upon 
the  throne  of  Heaven,  the  Living  Christ. — In  the  Second  Adam 
are  given  unto  us :  1st,  Forgiveness  of  all  sins ;  2nd,  The  New 
Life ;  3rd,  Entrance  into  the  Church,  which  is  the  kingdom  of 
God  on  earth. — Declaration  of   St.   John  to  that   effect. — Of   our 

,  Blessed  Lord  himself,  on  various  occasions,  to  various  persons. — 
The  sixth  chapter  of  the  Gospel  of  St.  John  :  its  purport  and  mean- 
ing.— Testimony  of  the  other  writers  of  the  New  Testament. — 


CONTENTS.  XI 

St.  Peter. — St.  Paul. — Injury  done  to  him,  and  his  writings,  in  the 
Western  or  Latin  Church. — His  character. — His  testimony  to  the 
doctrine  of  the  Living  Christ. — The  Roman  Empire  and  the  Chris- 
tian Church. — Their  strange  similarity. — The  Church  :  wliat  it 
means,  and  what  it  is. — The  result,  throughout  History,  on  the  world 
"       and  man  in  it,  of  these  ideas  and  facts 152 

CHAPTER  IV. 

The  doctrine  of  Regeneration  implies  the  doctrine  of  the  Living  Christ, 
and  of  our  death  in  sin. — This  death  in  sin  is  termed,  in  scientific 
theology.  Original  Sin. — Original  Sin,  not  total  depravity. — Our 
ninth  Article. — Original  Sin  proves  the  need  of  Regeneration. — The 
Heathen  philosophy :  its  imperfection. — In  the  Christian  doctrine, 
only  as  held  in  the  Christian  Church,  is  there  any  true  or  perfect 
philosophy  of  man's  nature  and  being. — The  doctrine  of  Original 
Sin  completes  and  perfects  all  philosophy  of  man  that  is  real  and 
sincere. — The  passage  concerning  philosophy  in  the  Epistle  to  the 
Corinthians  quoted. — Different  positions  of  the  Latin  and  of  the 
Greek  Church  toward  philosophy. — Causes  of  this  fact — The  two 
states  of  man :  his  original  and  his  fallen  state. — The  incarnation 
of  the  Word,  and  the  New  Birth  through  Him,  the  remedy  for  man's 
fall 176 

CHAPTER  V. 

The  original  state  of  man. — He  was  perfect  and  in  a  perfect  world ; 
endowed  with  supernatural  gifts  and  graces. — By  the  act  of  hia 
own  free-will  and  by  the  temptation  of  Satan,  he  fell  from  his  first 
estate,  and  was  cast  out  from  Paradise. — On  himself,  therefore, 
and  on  his  posterity,  came  all  the  results  and  consequences  of  that 
fall. — These,  in  scientific  theology,  are  enumerated  and  defined  as 
five  in  number :  1st,  Ignorance  ;  2d,  Insubordination  and  rebellion 
of  his  natural  powers  and  faculties  against  their  law ;  3d,  The  pol- 
lution and  stain  of  sin  ;  4th,  Its  guilt ;  5th,  Shame  and  fear  and 
the  sting  of  remorse. — If  Regeneration  be  a  reality,  it  has  a  remedy 
for  all  these. — In  all  the  means  of  grace  in  the  Church  a  remedy  for 
these  wounds  of  nature. — Her  action  in  promoting  knowledge  and 
counteracting  ignorance  considered  at  length. — There  are  two  effi- 
cient powers  that  employ  and  put  to  use  all  these  means  :  in  Christ 
our  Lord,  the  personal  Spirit ;  in  the  regenerated  man,  the  power  of 
a  living  faith. — The  prospects  of  the  Church  in  this  land. — Three 
great  teachers  of  the  Church  in  the  East  and  the  West. — Their  wide 
influence  and  power. — So  with  the  Church  here,  in  this  land,  it  shall 
be. — She  shall  be  a  teaching  Church  preeminently 195 


XU  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  VI. 

Sin — peccatum  in  classic  Latin — liamartema  in  Greek. — The  Law,  a 
great  objective  fact  and  idea  understood  and  tauglit  by  Chris- 
tianity.— Modern  philosophy  ignores  this  fact  in  its  mental  and 
moral  science. — 'Eesults  of  this  mistake. — What  is  the  Law  ?  It  is 
the  final  and  ultimate  rule  for  man  in  all  action :  Eectum — 
Eight — that  is,  ruled  by  the  Law. — Four  forms  of  the  Law.— Its 
effect  upon  man. — In  what  man's  wretchedness  consists. — The  say- 
ing of  Paschal. — Explanation  of  the  facts  of  fallen  nature  and 
the  Law  by  St.  Augustine  and  John  Calvin. — Flaw  in  their  reason- 
ing.— They  omit  the  great  idea  (which  afterward  dwelt  upon  the 
mind  of  Bishop  Butler,  and  shaped  his  whole  thought),  that  this 
world  is  a  school  of  probation. — St.  Augustine,  furthermore,  read  the 
Scriptures  in  a  translation,  not  in  the  original  languages. — True 
statement  of  the  effect  of  the  Law  upon  man,  taking  into  account 
all  these  three  elements  of  the  problem :  1st,  The  nature  and  at- 
tributes of  God ;  2nd,  The  moral  system  of  this  world  in  all  its  modes 
of  action  upon  humanity  ;  3d,  Man  fallen  and  wretched. — The  Law 
in  the  Church,  considered  as  the  kingdom  of  God. — Its  operation 
as  the  Law  of  Grace,  the  Law  of  the  Spirit  of  Life,  the  Eoyal  Law 
of  Liberty,  upon  our  heart  and  nature,  considered  at  full  length, 
and  practically 209 

CHAPTER  VIL 

Individualism  denies  the  existence  of  the  Church  and  of  its  blessings. — 
The  earnest  preachers  of  forty  years  ago. — They  could  not  rise  up 
to  the  idea,  or  realize  the  fact,  of  a  Church  of  God ;  a  sphere  and 
kingdom  of  salvation  and  grace  and  pardon  of  sins. — Baptism  is  the 
transition  from  death  unto  life.— The  Law  and  Grace. — The  Law  to 
those  who  are  unregenerated,  and  to  those  who  are  sons  of  God 
through  Jesus  Christ. — All  means  of  grace  are  means  of  absolution 
and  forgiveness  of  sins  to  the  sons  of  God,  on  condition  of  their 
living  and  real  faith. — Bishop  Andrewes's  sermon  on  absolution 
referred  to. — Negligence  of  the  laity  of  their  great  privileges  in  the 
kingdom  of  God,  as  under  the  Law  of  Christ. — Christian  Optimism. 
— All  things  work  together  for  good  to  them  that  love  Him 236 


CHAPTEE  VIII. 

The  influences  of  the  Church  and  her  means  toward  cleansing  and  puri- 
fying our  humanity. — Good  universally  typified  by  light,  and  Evil 
by  darkness  ;     Sin  by  filthiness  and   uncleanness. — The  blood  of 


CONTENTS.  Xlll 

Christ  is  applied  to  our  souls  in  our  baptism,  and  henceforth  the 
Life  of  Christ  and  His  indwelling  Spirit  cleanse  and  purify  the 
man,  permanently  and  immanently. — The  Spirit  of  the  Word  of 
God  upon  man's  purification. — Word  in  two  senses :  1st,  The  Word 
of  God  Incarnate;  2nd,  The  message  which  the  Word  Incarnate 
uttered  to  man  with  the  tongue  and  voice  of  a  sinless  humanity. — 
The  Word,  in  this  sense  is,  in  the  Scripture,  now  completed. — The 
Word  in  the  Church,  the  seed-grain  of  all  civilization. — Examples 
of  this. — The  Scripture  doctrine  concerning  woman. — Marriage 
and  divorce. — The  principles  of  this  word  flung  broadcast  on  the 
world  since  our  Lord's  ascension 251 


CHAPTER  IX. 

Man's  wretchedness. — It  may  be  considered  in  itself,  as  apart  from 
God,  unaided  and  uninfluenced  ;  but  it  is  not  so  in  fact ;  man  is 
in  the  world,  and  unceasingly  wrought  upon  by  manifold  influ- 
ences that  come  upon  him  from  without. — The  meaning  and  effect 
of  the  outward  world  according  to  the  Calvinists ;  according  to 
Bishop  Butler. — Nature  fallen  from  God  and  wretched. — This 
world  to  all  men  a  school  of  probation. — God  sends  His  light  to  all 
men  in  and  through  the  world. — The  state  of  nature  in  itself,  if 
left  alone ;  but  it  is  not  left  alone. — The  interpretation  given  of 
the  outward  and  objective  world  in  its  action  upon  man  from  the 

earliest  times  in  Holy  Writ,  that  it  teaches  man  of  God. The 

Psalms. — St.  Paul  to  the  heathen. — Again,  to  the  heathen  philoso- 
phers at  Athens. — Again,  in  his  Epistle  to  the  Romans. — Nature, 
however,  cannot  save,  being  fallen  and  wounded  by  sin  as  man  is  ; 
but,  through  nature,  the  Word  and  the  Spirit  ever  shine  upon,  and 
calls  unto  man. — And  man  is  not  a  brute  in  unconscious  stu- 
pidity, or  a  fiend  ;  but  a  man  still,  conscious  of  his  own  wretched- 
ness, and  of  the  height  from  which  his  humanity  has  fallen. — There- 
fore, through  nature,  God  calls  all  men  to  repentance  from  sin  and 
to  faith  in  his  heavenly  truth 263 


CHAPTER  X. 

The  state  of  Grace  :  its  blessings  natural  and  supernatural. — The  super- 
natural shines  through  the  natural. — Julian  the  Apostate  and  the 
pagan  high-priest  of  Galatia. — To  be  within  the  Church  is  a 
blessing,  even  in  a  natural  point  of  view. — Sons  of  God  of  two 
classes:  those  who  are  justified,  and  those  who  are  not  justified. — 
To  the  first  class  belong  all  the  blessings  of  the  Church,  natural 


XIV  CONTENTS. 

and  supernatural,  in  title  and  in  possession. — Blessings  given  all 
men  in  their  baptism :  1st,  Remission  and  forgiveness  of  all  our  sins ; 
2nd,  Regeneration, through  Jesus  Christ  our  Lord;  3d,  We  become 
herein  members  of  the  Covenant ;  and,  lastly,  we  are  in  the  number 
of  the  Elect  of  God. — Application  of  these  facts  to  the  subjectivity 
of  these  times. — But,  again,  there  are  given  to  those  who  have  a 
living  faith  peculiar  privileges. — Faith  :  its  value. — The  word  Faith, 
how  often  used  in  the  New  Testament. — The  Royalty  of  Christ  our 
King. — Its  blessings  to  the  man  who  lives  in  faith. — The  Priesthood 
and  Mediation  of  Christ. — Application  of  His  merits  to  all  the 
wounds  of  our  nature. — Christ  in  heaven  is  our  Prophet,  supplying, 
by  His  Spirit,  to  the  spirits  of  all  His  people,  the  truest  wisdom  ac- 
cording to  their  necessities  and  their  faith. — Our  duties  as  Chris- 
tians having  faith,  in  consequence  of  these  things :  1st,  To  those 
outside ;  2nd,  To  our  brethren  within  the  Church ;  those  that  are 
good,  first ;  and  then  those  that  are  evil. — The  final  consummation 
and  end  of  all  things. — When  is  our  Regeneration  made  perfect  ? . .  277 

CHAPTER  XI. 

The  principles  of  the  Church  with  regard  to  regeneration  require  to  be 
stated  distinctly  and  in  harmony  with  all  the  correlated  and  sub- 
siding doctrines. — This  done. — The  Gospel  system 306 


BOOK  III.— SCRIPTURAL  PROOFS. 

CHAPTER  I. 

Reasons  for  discussing  the  Scripture  proofs  at  this  point  of  our 
treatise. — Verbal  and  grammatical  interpretation. — The  legal  science 
of  interpretation. — The  central  passage,  our  Lord's  discourse  with 
Nicodemus. — Tholuck's  commentary  on  the  passage  cited. — The  lit- 
eral sense  the  true  sense. — Schedule  of  passages  on  Regeneration. — 
These  passages  literally  assert  the  Church  doctrine. — The  literal 
sense  also  agrees  with  all  the  other  correlated  and  subsidiary  doc- 
trines of  Holy  Writ. — It  was,  till  the  time  of  Zuingli,  in  the  fifteenth 
century,  the  only  interpretation  of  the  passage  of  St.  John. — Hooker's 
challenge. — The  weight  of  this  fact  on  the  principles  of  legal  inter- 
pretation.— The  Greek  Church  read  the  New  Testament  in  its 
own  language. — Church  literature,  for  twelve  hundred  years ;  the 
Latin  Fathers,  for  the  same  period  ;  the  Syrian  Christian  literature  ; 
all  these  put  but  one  sense  on  the  passage. — The  legal  and  judicial 
weight  of  this  fact. — Criticism  on  the  passage  from  other  commen- 


CONTENTS.  XV 

tators  :  Bishop  Wordswortli,  Dean  Alford. — Causes  of  the  individu- 
alist and  predestinarian  theories  on  the  Continent  of  Europe. — This 
land  in  a  different  position,  from  the  freedom  of  the  Church  from 
State  bondage 315 

CHAPTER   II. 

Christ's  Commission  to  His  Apostles. — Its  peculiar  position  and  weight 
in  the  Christian  system,  as  central  between  the  doctrine  of 
Christ  and  the  practice  upon  it  of  the  whole  Christian  Church, 
given  from  the  Four  Gospels. — What  does  it  mean  ? — It  is  a  com- 
mission to  do  a  great  work,  supernatural  and  miraculous,  in  this 
world  of  nature. — Not  the  apostles  by  their  personal  powers  as 
agents  of  an  absent  Lord  far  away,  that  has  left  them,  but  of  a 
Living  Christ,  Prophet,  Priest,  and  King,  who,  to  His  Church  and  to 
His  sons  that  believe,  is  ever  present ;  personally,  actually,  and 
really  ;  Himself  and  His  Spirit  doing  the  work,  actually  and  really, 
that  His  priests  do  ministerially. — He  baptizes  and  regenerates. — 
He  forgives  sins  really  and  personally. — We,  ministerially. — "  I  ab- 
solve thee,"  never  said  by  any  clergyman  of  the  Church  for  twelve 
hundred  years  after  Christ. — The  Eastern  Church  does  not  permit 
her  clergy  to  say,  "  N.  or  M.,  I  baptize  thee." — The  meaning  of  the 
commission  in  the  existence  of  the  Church  miraculously  upon  the 
earth  ;  and  in  it  of  the  one  baptism  for  the  remission  of  sins, 
as  a  miraculous  and  supernatural  gift  to.  fallen  man 343 

CHAPTER  III. 

Further  extracts  from  the  Scriptures,  with  comments  upon  them  of  emi- 
nent divines. — Remarks  upon  the  texts  which  say  that  we  are  saved 
"  iy  "  faith. — The  word  "  by : "  its  manifold  meaning. — What  the 
Church  teaches  as  to  man's  salvation 353 

CONCLUDING    CHAPTER. 

Summation  of  work  done  in  this  whole  book. — We  do  not  believe  in 
any  ma  media. — Caveat  to  our  readers. — Concluding  address  to  the 
baptized  members  of  the  Church  in  this  land. — The  necessity  of  un- 
derstanding our  doctrine  in  all  its  relations.  Scriptural,  social,  and 
national. — For  before  this  Church  there  are  the  highest  hopes  in 
the  system  of  God's  providence. — Therefore,  being  the  sons  of 
God  through  Christ,  we  are  to  live  in  the  Spirit  of  God  and  of 
Christ  in  this  world,  that  we  also  may  be  glorified  together  with 
Him 377 


REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM. 


PKELIMIKARY  CHAPTER. 

When  in  Europe  the  Papal  and  Imperial  systems  came 
in  direct  conflict  witli  one  another  in  the  war  of  Investi- 
tures, it  ended  not  in  the  victory  of  either  side,  as  their 
several  partisans  pretend,  but  in  a  compromise.*  As  in  all 
compromises  of  moral  and  religious  questions,  humanity 
suffered.  And  therefore,  for  three  hundred  years  from  the 
date  of  the  Concordat,  things  became  worse  and  worse  in 
the  political  and  religious  state  of  Europe,  until  finally  that 
great  explosion  occurred  which  we  call  the  Reformation.  This 
is  ordinarily  considered  to  be  one  movement,  and  that  exclu- 
sively religious.  It  was  manifold;  the  antagonism  to  Rome 
being  carried  on  by  the  alliance,  for  the  time  at  least,  of  three 
different  religious  systems.  It  was  also  political,  being,  without 
doubt,  the  uprising  of  the  national  spirit  in  the  great  Euro- 
pean countries  against  the  lust  of  universal  dominion  in  the 
Chm'ch  and  the  Empire.  Too  often  are  these  facts  forgotten. 
Too  often  is  it  represented  on  the  one  side  as  the  rebellion  of 
self-will  against  authority,  or  on  the  other  as  the  uprising  of 
religious  freedom  against  antichristian  tyranny. 

As  its  result,  however,  that  portion  of  Christianity  in 
Europe  which  had  been  brought  into  obedience  to  the  Pope 
was  broken  up  into  great  fragments.     Of  these  the  principal 

*The  Concordat  of  Worms,  a.d.  1123. 


2  REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM. 

may  be  laid  down  as  the  Roman,  the  Anglican,  the  Lutheran, 
the  Calvinist.  On  the  continent  of  Europe  these  last  two  are 
invariably  called  Protestant  and  Reformed. 

!Now,  if  we  examine  these  four  systems,  we  find  the  Roman 
to  be  essentially  a  corruption  and  depravation  of  primitive 
faith  and  primitive  practice.  Every  error  in  this  system,  how 
far  soever  it  may  have  gone,  has  a  certain  centre  or  core  of 
original  and  traditional  truth,  which  it  has  corrupted  and 
alloyed,  or  overlaid  with  falsehood.  The  Anglican  system  is 
an  honest  attempt  at  reformation  on  the  part  of  the  nation 
and  the  Church  of  England,  by  cleansing  the  temple  of  the 
rubbish  and  the  accumulated  filth  of  ages,  by  casting  down  the 
idols  and  restoring  the  primitive  doctrines  and  devotions. 
The  Lutheran  and  Calvinist  schemes  are  individuahst  systems 
of  doctrine  and  discipline,  honestly  elaborated  from  the  Scrip- 
tures on  the  basis  of  private  judgment,  by  the  intellectual 
efibrts  of  these  two  great  and  sincerely  religious  men,  Martin 
Luther  and  John  Cahdn. 

ITow,  there  is  a  certain  agreement  among  these  four  parties, 
existing  even  to  the  present  day.  They  all  profess,  and  we 
believe  honestly  and  sincerely,  to  hold  the  Scriptm-es  of  the 
Old  and  New  Testaments,  ex  animo,  and  in  their  plain,  mani- 
fest sense.  They  all  baptize  in  the  name  of  the  Father,  the 
Son,  and  the  Holy  Ghost.  So  far  they  all  claim  to  be,  and 
justly  are,  accounted  Christians. 

Now,  we  assume  no  philosophic  indifierence.  We  are 
upon  a  distinct  and  clear  basis.  We  belong  to  the  Church  in 
the  United  States,  which  is  descended  from  the  Church  in 
England ;  we  think  the  Roman  system  to  be  a  corruption  of 
primitive  doctrine  and  organization ;  and  we  have  no  love 
for  Calvinism,  or  Lutheranism,  as  systems.  Yet,  nevertheless, 
we  do  consider  this  common  agreement  as  a  matter  of  great 
hope  for  the  future,  and  we  rejoice  in  it. 

Now  let  us  put  the  Roman  system  upon  one  side,  and  con- 
sider the  other  three.  We  see  that  at  the  Reformation  the 
German,  the  French,  the  English  nations  rose  up  at  one  and 


REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM.  3 

the  same  time  in  favor  of  personal  and  individual  holiness  and 
morality,  and  of  national  freedom  against  the  ciml  and  religious 
despotism  of  the  Imperial  and  Papal  systems,  allied,  as  they 
were,  by  concordats  and  compromises.  This  is  the  true  state- 
ment. 

But  what  has  this  to  do  with  the  doctrine  of  regeneration 
in  haptism  f  Everything.  For,  ask  an  Anglican,  a  Calvinist,  or 
a  Lutheran  the  question,  and  you  will  find  that  upon  this  doctrine 
is  their  disagreement,  here  their  want  of  harmony  begins. 
They  all  believe  in  original  sin.  Hence,  in  the  estimate  of 
them  all,  man  needs  a  restoration  to  a  higher  life,  a  state  where- 
unto,  by  his  own  efforts,  he  cannot  arise.  They  all  believe  in 
the  doctrine  of  the  Holy  Trinity — that  the  Father  is  the  Crea- 
tor— the  Son  the  Redeemer — the  Holy  Spirit  the  Sanctifier. 
Hence  from  the  Father,  Son,  and  Holy  Spirit  alone  can  proceed 
man's  restoration.  They  believe,  all  of  them,  that  the  Son  of 
God  became  incarnate,  that  He  died  upon  the  cross  and  offered 
up  thereby  a  real  and  sufficient  atonement  and  sacrifice  for  the 
sins  of  man.  By  the  benefit  of  that  sacrifice  alone,  according 
to  all  these  parties,  is  man  saved.  Again,  all  these  believe 
that  the  Holy  Spirit  is  the  source  to  man  of  grace  and  holi- 
ness. He  is  the  Lord  and  the  Giver  of  Life.  See  in  how 
many  things  these  parties  agree,  and  yet  they  have  three  sys- 
tems so  distinct  and  clear  that  there  is  but  little  harmony 
among  their  adherents. 

Wherein  do  they  differ?  In  this  very  doctrine  of  regen- 
eration. They  all  assert  that  man's  nature  is  fallen  and  corrupt, 
and  needs  a  regeneration.  They  all  agree  that  a  regeneration 
is  given  by  God  to  man  upon  the  earth.  But  how  ?  at  what 
time  ?  and  by  what  means  is  it  given  ?  This  is  the  central 
question.  Starting  from  this  one  point,  there  are  three  sys- 
tems, the  Anglican  or  Primitive  Church  system,  as  we  assert 
it  to  be,  the  orthodox  Calvinist,  the  Lutheran.  We  cannot 
disregard  this  fact.  To  assume  that  it  is  not  so,  or  to  evade  it, 
is  either  weakness  or  insincerity ;  and,  in  the  long  run,  it  is 
not  wise  either  for  the  clergy  or  the  laity.     In  this  country  the 


4  BEGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM. 

Cliurchman,  the  Calvinist  (whether  Congregationah'st  or  Pres- 
byterian), and  the  Methodist,  together  with  the  American 
Lutheran,  are  the  representatives  of  the  three  parties.  It 
needs  but  Httle  experience  of  religious  life  to  see  upon  what 
a  distinct  and  diiferent  basis  of  practice  and  of  doctrine  these 
three  parties  stand. 

ISTow,  in  England  the  Church  and  the  State,  for  they  were 
allied,  and  therefore  were  united  in  action,  adopted  the  Primi- 
tive system.  It  is  seen  in  their  standards,  and  acknowledged 
in  their  legislation.  But  the  conflict  of  the  Reformation,  we 
must  remember,  was  not  simply  against  Pome,  but  against 
despotism  also.  Constitutional  freedom  was  at  stake  as  well  as 
religious  truth.  The  vigor  and  the  craft  of  that  great  king 
and  great  Englishman,  Henry  the  Eighth,  kept  his  kingdom 
comparatively  free  from  the  political  strifes  of  the  continent  in 
the  early  stages  of  the  Peformation!  Indeed,  it  is  wonderful 
how  clear,  at  all  times,  England  kept  from  the  German  Pefor- 
mation,  religious  and  national.  The  only  great  German 
reformer,  whose  influence  reached  England  in  early  times, 
was  Melancthon,  and  he  was  more  in  the  spirit  of  the  primi- 
tive Church  than  of  Luther,  or  the  genuine  Lutherans.  In 
fact,  pure  Lutheranism,  that  is,  religion  based  exclusively  upon 
the  Lutheran  dogma,  made  itself  no  home  in  England  until 
it  was  brought  in  by  John  Wesley,  nearly  two  hundred  years 
after. 

But  hardly  had  the  short-lived  son  of  King  Henry,  Edward 
the  Sixth,  passed  away,  before  the  strife  began  which  England 
as  a  nation  was  to  wage,  in  behalf  of  the  whole  world,  against 
despotism,  -backed  by  the  whole  political,  religious,  and  social 
influence  of  Pome  in  Europe.  Germany  stood  aside  in  this 
great  agony.  The  only  sympathy  and  help  that  came  to 
England  came  from  the  nations  in  which  the  Calvinistic  Refor- 
mation had  prevailed.  The  Hollander,  with  heroic  energy, 
by  sea  and  land ;  the  French  Huguenot,  nay  more  or  less  the 
whole  French  nation ;  the  Scotchman ;  the  Switzer,  these  were 
they  who  alone  sympathized  with  England  in  her  struggle  for 


REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM.  5 

existence  against  Eome  and  Spain  united.  No  wonder  that 
the  gratitude  of  the  nation  ahnost  overpowered  the  doctrinal 
convictions  of  the  Church.  No  wonder  that  doctrinal  Calvin- 
ists  obtained  livings,  and  even  bishoprics.  They  actually  got 
partial  control  of  the  universities,  the  sources  of  opinion,  and 
thereby  more  or  less  extensively  educated  and  trained  the 
clergy  and  gentry  of  the  nation  in  Calvinism !  They  made 
the  Institutions  of  John  Calvin  a  text-book  in  Cambridge 
University !  And  by  and  by  they  almost  succeeded  in  alter- 
ing the  articles  of  the  English  Church,  by  foisting  in  among 
them  the  Lambeth  articles,  a  rigidly  Calvinistic  document.* 

This  base  intrigue,  for  such  it  was,  was  put  down  by  Queen 
Elizabeth.  One  breath  of  her  mouth — one  stamp  of  the  foot 
from  the  lioness  of  England — saved  the  English  nation  from 
this  hateful  fatalistic  formula. f 

And  yet  some  years  after,  so  strong  was  the  influence  of  the 
party  that  the  English  king,  her  successor  (the  king  personally, 
not  the  Parliament  of  the  nation  or  the  Convocation  of  the 
Church),  sent  deputies  to  the  Council  of  European  Calvinism, 
the  Synod  of  Dort.  So  much  can  the  union  of  Church  and 
State  and  the  consequent  confusion  of  politics  and  religion  do 
to  commingle,  or  rather  to  huddle  together  systems  the  most 
distinct,  the  most  hostile,  and  the  most  incongruous. 

As  long  as  the  strife  against  Philip  of  Spain  lasted,  that 
great  agony  which  every  Englishman  felt  to  be  a  death  strug- 
gle against  popery  and  despotism  for  the  very  existence  of  the 
English  nation,  so  long  this  confusion  was  possible.  But  no 
sooner  was  the  struggle  at  an  end  and  peace  begun,  than  Cal- 

* "  Their  aim  was  to  fasten  upon  the  ^^Church  a  number  of  arbitrary 
definitions,  ill  according  with  the  spirit  of  the  men  by  whom  the  Reforma- 
tion had  been  carried  on,  and  altogether  out  of  harmony  with  the  Prayer 
Book  and  the  older  formularies  of  faith." — Hardwick's  "  History  of  the  Arti- 
cles," p.  66. 

f  See  in  Hardwick  these  articles  in  their  uncompromising  and  rigorous 
proscriptiveness  as  originally  devised  and  drawn  out  by  the  Calvinists  of 
Cambridge,  and  passed  in  the  hole-and-corner  meeting  at  Lambeth,  Nov.  20, 
A.D.  1595. 


6  REGENERATION  IN  BAPTIS3I. 

vinism  found  what  it  should  have  known  long  before,  that  it 
was  essentially  antagonistic  and  hostile  to  the  Anglican  system 
of  doctrine,  and  to  the  Anglican  Church.  The  clergy  who  pro- 
fessed and  propagated  Calvinism  had  been  educated  at  the 
expense  of  the  English  Church,  They  had  signed  the  English 
articles,  they  had  been  baptized  by  her  forms  of  baptism. 
They  had  been  taught  in  her  Catechism,  and  had  been  confirmed 
with  her  order  of  confirmation.  They  had  been  ordained  with 
the  forms  of  her  Ordinal  by  her  bishops.  All  these  express 
clearly  and  distinctly  her  doctrine  of  regeneration.  And  they 
held  office  in  her  considered  as  the  Established  Church  of  the 
English  nation.  They  received  salaries,  and  were  bishops,  deans, 
rectors,  under  an  oath  to  conform  to  these  standards,  to  uphold 
these  formulas.  We  make  all  allowance  for  the  self-deceit  of 
prejudice  and  passion,  but  we  cannot  help  thinking  that  the 
leaders,  at  least,  of  the  Presbyterian  and  Puritan  party  in  the 
English  Church,  at  all  times,  knew  that  they  were  upon  a  dif- 
ferent system  from  that  of  the  Church  to  which  they  had  sworn 
allegiance.  We  cannot  but  think  that  they  knew  that  they 
were  essentially  hostile  to  it,  and  that  their  duty,  therefore, 
knowing  this,  if  they  were  honest  men,  was  to  resign  its  emol- 
uments, to  give  up  their  position  among  its  clergy,  to  retire 
from  a  system  which  they  counted  unchristian  and  untrue. 

They  did  not  do  so.  They  acted  as  faction  and  treason 
always  act.  They  employed  their  position,  their  means,  their 
influence,  in  destroying  the  very  Church  and  system  in  which 
they  were  sworn  officials.  They  may  have  been  blinded  by 
prejudice,  deafened  to  the  truth  by  the  clamor  of  popular 
excitement,  blinded  and  maddened  by  party  frenzy ;  but  look- 
ing at  the  conduct  of  the  Calvinist  clergy  in  the  English  Church, 
after  making  all  these  allowances,  we  must  think  that  their 
course  was  disloyal  and  dishonest — the  course  of  traitors  within 
a  fortress  they  were  sworn  to  defend. 

Their  system,  however,  gained  strength  in  the  nation.  It 
accumulated  power  to  itself  by  all  the  means  which  faction 
uses.     It  availed  itself  to  the  full  of  every  prejudice.     It  pal- 


REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM.  7 

tered  to  every  passion  of  tlie  Euglisli  people,  that  nation  so 
honest  in  its  intolerance,  so  set  and  stubborn  in  all  its  dislikes, 
and  lastly  it  availed  itself  to  the  utmost  of  all  the  political  mis- 
takes, of  all  the  constitutional  blunders  of  its  opponents.  Cal- 
vinism therefore  conquered.  In  the  State  as  a  political  party,  in 
the  nation  as  a  system  of  religion,  it  was  victorious.  The  im- 
mediate result  of  its  victory  at  once  made  manifest  the  insin- 
cerity of  its  previous  career.  For  it  abolished  Episcopacy^ — 
it  overthrew  the  whole  system  of  the  English  Church, — nay,  it 
forbade  the  xise  of  the  English  Booh  of  Common  Prayer,  in 
public  or  even  in  a  private  house,  under  a  heavy  penalty  for 
each  offence !  *  It  reigned,  then,  in  one  shape  or  another  ab- 
solutely for,  say,  ten  years.  And  once  and  forever,  the  whole 
English  nation  were  convinced  that  political  Calvinism,  as  a 
dominant  party  in  the  State,  is  hateful  and  insufferable,  and 
that  the  purely  Calvinistic  theological  system  is  antagonist  es- 
sentially to  that  of  the  English  Church. 

Our  readers  will  remember  that  Christianity,  for  nearly 
four  hundred  years  after  its  entrance  into  the  world,  knew 
nothing  of  a  union  between  the  Church  and  the  State.  They 
will  also  bear  in  mind  that  the  English  nation  never  knew 
anything  of  a  State-free  Christianity.  Its  conversion  was 
begun  and  completed  under  the  bondage  of  Church  and  State. 
They  will  remember,  also,  that  for  some  centuries  that  nation 
was,  of  all  European  nations,  the  most  devoted  champion,  the 
most  obedient  instrument  of  the  Roman  system.  The  parties, 
therefore,  that  after  the  Reformation  came  in  conflict  in  Eng- 
land, whether  Roman,  Anglican,  or  Calvinistic,  fought  for 
dotninion  and  r)%astery,  not  for  religious  freedom.  This  was 
the  last  idea  to  enter  the  mind  of  any  one  of  them.  There  was 
no  possibility,  therefore,  of  \'iewing  any  system   apart  from 

*  "  Those  who  read  the  Common  Prayer,  either  in  Churches  or  their 
families,  were  to  forfeit  five  pounds  for  the  first  offence ;  ten  pounds  for 
the  second ;  and  suffer  a  year's  imprisonment  without  bail  or  main-prise  for 
the  third." — Ordinance  of  the  Lords  and  Commons  at  Westminster,  August 
23, 1645.  In  Scobell's  Collection  of  Acts  of  Parliament,  folio  97.  Cited  in 
Collier's  "  Ch.  History,"  vol.  viii.  p.  396. 


8  REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM. 

national  politics.  The  Anglican  party,  for  instance,  was  essen- 
tially the  English  constitutional  party,  wrapped  np  in  the 
nsages  and  principles  of  the  English  national  monarchy,  as  they 
had  come  down  upon  the  tradition  of  ages.  The  Roman  party 
in  England  was  inclined  to  the  maxims  of  Despotic  Imperial- 
ism. And  the  Puritans  were  what  they  called  Republicans ; 
that  is  to  say,  from  their  school-boy  and  college  reminiscences 
of  classical  literature,  which  then  had  hardly  lost  that  rosy 
glow  with  which  it  rose  upon  ignorant  Europe  a  hundred  years 
before,  they  had  picked  up  a  quantity  of  so-called  Republican 
notions, — the  most  impracticable,  the  most  absurd,  the  most 
ridiculous,  the  cast  off  rags  of  Greek  and  Roman  rhetoricians. 
Whosoever  shall  look  at  the  Puritan  men  of  genius  in  those 
days,  Milton  and  Harrington  and  Sydney  and  Yane,  may  see 
that  in  politics  they  were  children,  not  men.  The  real  men 
were  the  soldiers  and  the  constitutional  lawyers  on  both  sides  ; 
but  these  others  were  literary  pedants,  brilliant  declaimers, 
vending  mere  heathenism — the  declamatory  commonj^laces  of 
that  most  insincere  and  most  unreal  of  all  things,  the  later 
literature  of  Rome.  They  republicans !  They  were  dreamers 
and  talkers  and  phrase-mongers,  not  statesmen,  in  any  shape. 
But  they  aided  in  rousing  popular  fury,  in  swelling  the  tide 
of  popular  discontent,  in  giving  the  victory  to  a  small  and 
merciless  faction,  which  did  not  amount  to  one  tenth  part  of 
the  English  nation,  all  told. 

By  the  providence  of  God,  when  that  strife  in  England 
ceased,  undecided  and  undetermined  although  it  were,  the  ele- 
ments of  the  same  parties  were  transferred  to  this  land ;  nay, 
the  parties  themselves  perfectly  organized  with  all  the  weaj^ons 
of  their  conflict.  Puritanism  became  established  in  JSTew  Eng- 
land- It  was  in  the  closest  alliance  with  the  State.  It  used 
the  State  in  raising  taxes  for  the  support  of  its  ministry,  in  pun- 
ishing its  opponents  by  exile,  confiscation  of  goods,  imprison- 
ment, and  death.  Anglicanism  also  was  settled  here,  in  Yir- 
gmia,  and  Romanism  also  in  Maryland,  although  neither  were 
perfect  in  their  organization,  being  without  the  Episcopate. 


REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM.  9 

Tlie  Eevolntion  came,  it  dissolved  the  union  of  Church  and 
State ;  it  estabhshed,  as  a  principle  and  as  a  fact  of  the  con- 
stitution, the  doctrine  of  civil  and  religious  liberty.  By 
that  enactment  all  religious  systems  stand  in  this  land 
wholly  separated  from  the  State,  and  perfectly  free,  and  there- 
fore unmingled  and  uneonfused  with  questions  of  polity,  to  be 
discussed  and  examined  upon  their  own  merits  exclusively  as 
systems  of  religion. 

Romanism  is  here,  pertinaciously  asserting  itself,  its  dogmas, 
and  its  traditions.  "We,  the  descendants  of  the  Anglican  Church, 
are  here,  with  the  fact  and  faith  of  the  Church,  One  Holy  Cath- 
olic and  Apostolic,  with  the  open  Bible  in  our  hands,  with  a 
primitive  liturgy  and  primitive  sacraments — separated  entirely 
from  the  State  and  exulting  in  tliis  freedom — equally  free  from 
the  supremacy  of  the  Pope  and  the  supremacy  of  monarchy — 
feeling  that  we  alone  stand  at  this  period  of  time  as  the  Church 
stood  in  the  world  until  the  fatal  days  of  the  first  Constantino. 
And  the  system  of  John  Calvin  is  here  also.  The  system  too 
of  Martin  Luther.  Are  not  all  these,  holding,  as  they  all  do, 
the  objective  facts  of  Christianity,  the  doctrine  of  man's  fallen 
nature  and  of  its  consequent  needs,  the  doctrine  of  the  Holy 
Trinity  and  its  works  for  man,  and  differing  in  respect  to 
their  application — are  not  they  here — placed  separate  from 
the  State  and  from  all  confusing  questions  of  civil  government, 
politics,  taxation,  and  persecution — in  order  that  the  questions, 
debated  in  Europe  and  left  undecided  there,  should  here  be 
reexamined,  here  be  decided  ?  Is  there  not  then  a  hope  that 
by  the  providence  of  God  it  is  intended  that  Christianity  in 
this  ISTew  World  once  more  may  become  reunited  ?  That  this 
land  and  nation  may  have  been  intended  as  an  arena  for  the 
peaceable  discussion  and  the  peaceable  and  final  decision  of 
all  these  religious  questions,  as  the  place  and  the  instrument 
for  the  ultimate  reunion  of  the  Christian  world  in  the  doctrine 
and  the  unity  of  the  One  Holy  Catholic  and  Apostolic  Church, 
perfectly  free  from  the  tyranny  of  Imperialist  or  Boman  usur- 
pation ? 


10  REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM. 

Now,  as  we  said  above,  we  put  on  one  side  the  discussions 
we  have  with  Rome  as  alien  to  the  purpose  of  tliis  treatise. 
"We  then  ask  what  is  the  difference  between  ourselves  and  the 
representatives  of  Calvinism  and  Lutheranism  in  this  land? 
and  wherein  do  we  agree  ?  We  agree  with  them,  evidently, 
in  confessing  the  truth  and  authority  of  the  Scriptures.  We 
agree  with  them  in  the  doctrine — that  the  Father  is  the  Creator, 
the  Son  the  Redeemer,  the  Holy  Ghost  the  Sanctifier.  We 
agree,  also,  that  man  in  this  world  is  a  fallen  being,  and  that 
in  this  life  he  can  be  regenerated  or  born  again. 

Now  our  difierence  is  precisely  upon  this  doctrine  of  regen- 
eration, not  upon  the  fact,  but  upon  the  mode  and  manner. 
We  admit  the  fact  as  possible  in  the  system  of  God's  providence, 
we  confess  the  doctrine  as  an  essential  doctrine  of  Christianity  ; 
but  when  we  come  to  a  development  of  the  questions  concern- 
ing the  mode  and  manner,  at  once  it  is  manifest  that  there  are 
three  distinct  systems  of  doctrine.  And  these  issue  forth  in 
three  distinct  courses  of  religious  practice  and  religious  emotion. 
A  pious  and  sincere  Churchman,  a  pious  Calvinist,  a  pious 
Methodist,  while  they  admit  respectively  each  other's  sincerity 
and  devotion,  recognize  at  once  the  different  grounds  upon 
which  they  stand.  They  feel  that  they  are  of  a  different  spirit 
and  temper,  and  breathe  a  different  air^ 

Now  we  shall  give  the  three  systems,  honestly,  and  accord- 
ing to  our  best  judgment  and  knowledge.  The  first  is  the 
Anglican. 

First.  Man's  nature  is  fallen ;  it  needs  a  regeneration. 

Secondly.  This  regeneration  comes  from  the  effects  of 
Christ's  work  and  merits  for  man. 

Thirdly.  It  is  effected  by  the  power  of  the  Holy  Spirit. 

Fourthly.  It  demands  in  the  man  certain  qualifications, 
.which  are  prerequisites.  These  are  sincere  repentance  from 
past  sins,  and  a  living  faith. 

Fifthly.  The  regeneration  takes  place  in  and  by  the  Sacra- 
ment of  Baptism. 

Sixthly.  The  man's  sins  are  all  then  forgiven.     The  vital 


REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM.  11 

principle  of  a  new  life.,  the  life  of  Christ,  is  then  and  there 
implanted  in  him.  He  is  then  and  there  introduced  into  the 
earthly  sphere  of  that  new  life,  which  is  the  Holy  Catholic 
Church. 

Seventhly.  As  before  he  was  in  the  World,  under  a  natu- 
ral probation,  so  now  he  is  in  the  Church,  which  is  a  school  of 
supernatural  and  spiritual  probation,  the  probation  of  Grace. 
He  is  a  member  of  the  Election,  which  is  the  visible  Church 
of  Christ.  He  is  given  in  it  all  the  means  of  grace.  He  is 
therefore  bound  to  make  his  calling  and  election  sure.  And 
henceforth  until  the  day  of  his  death  he  is  upon  his  trial  as  a 
regenerated  man,  a  son  of  God,  endowed  with  all  these  privi- 
leges. 

Eighthly.  If  he  avail  himself  by  a  living  faith  of  all  these 
blessings,  he  shall,  at  the  resurrection  day,  pass  as  a  son  of 
God  from  the  state  of  grace  into  the  state  of  glory,  his  son- 
ship  being  then  completed,  so  that  he  is  thenceforth  immutably 
a  son  of  God,  being  a  son  of  the  resurrection. 

Kow,  our  readers  will  take  notice  that  we  of  the  Church 
have  a  system*  upon  the  doctrine  of  regeneration.  Here  are 
various  elements,  in  various  ways  concurring  to  the  same  re- 
sult. Here  are  various  coordinate  doctrines  asserted,  all  of 
them  doctrines  of  the  Gospel  —  the  fallen  nature  of  man;  the 
effects  of  Christ's  death  and  sacrifice;  the  grace  of  the  Holy 
Spirit;  the  doctrines  of  faith  and  repentance;  the  doctrine  of 
a  Church,  Holy,  Catholic,  and  Apostolic,  ^nsible  in  this  world, 
instituted  by  Christ  himself,  and  to  last  to  the  end  of  time; 
the  doctrine  also  of  the  ministry,  a  body  of  embassadors  for 
Christ,  who  are  commissioned  to  preach  repentance  and  faith, 
and  to  admit  men  by  baptism  into  the  Church  of  God ;  the 
doctrine,  too,  that  this  world  is  for  man  a  school  of  natural 
probation,  and  that  the  Chui'ch  also  is  a  school  of  spuitual 
probation. 

Look,  therefore,  at  the  doctrine  of  regeneration  as  held  in 

*  This  system  is  more  fully  drawn  out,  in  all  its  relations,  in  the  last 
chapter  of  the  second  book. 


12  REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM. 

the  Church,  and  you  will  see  a  pyramid  solidly  built  up  of 
many  doctrines,  all  of  them  true,  all  of  them  seen  in  the  Script- 
ures, all  of  them  eminently  practical  and  evangelical,  and 
resting  and  leaning  upon  them  all,  as  the  highest  and  crowning 
stone,  is  the  doctrine  asserted  by  the  Church,  that  "in  baptism 
we  are  made  members  of  Christ,  children  of  God,  inheritors 
of  the  kingdom  of  Heaven."  "^  System,  the  bringing  out  of 
one  result  by  manifold  and  various  concurring  causes;  this  is 
the  usual  way  wherein  God  works,  and  in  this  the  Church 
doctrine  of  regeneration  is  in  harmony  and  accordance  with 
the  method  of  God's  operation  in  nature  and  the  world. 

We  only  dwell  one  moment  more  upon  this  statement  to 
remark  that  the  mass  of  objections  against  our  doctrine  arise 
from  men's  not  discerning  the  manifold  elements  in  the  sys- 
tem, and  the  various  ways  in  which  they  are  coordinated  and 
work  together.  How  often  do  we  hear  that  baptismal  regen- 
eration denies  the  atonement  of  Christ !  or  the  power  of  the 
Holy  Spirit !  or  the  doctrine  of  faith !  Whereas  it  is  plainly 
manifest  that  upon  these  doctrines  it  is  based;  all  these  doc- 
trines it  asserts,  emphatically  and  distinctly,  as  parts  of  the  one 
harmonious  system.  The  only  thing  it  really  means  is  that 
the  objector  does  not  understand  their  relations  in  the  system, 
and  that  his  objections  arise  from  this  ignorance  upon  his  part. 
Or  perhaps  it  means  that  two  or  three  hundred  years  ago,  in 
England,  his  ancestors  were  on  the  Puritan  side  in  English 
politics,  and  from  them  he  has,  somehow  or  other,  derived  the 
traditional  notion  that  baptismal  regeneration  is  hostile  to  civil 
and  religious  liberty ! 

Here,  then,  is  the  Church  system.  We  go  on  to  expound 
as  plainly  as  we  can  the  opposite  systems.  It  is  but  fair  to  say 
that  in  this  country  the  system  of  Calvinism  has  been  mod- 
ified and  softened  in  many  particulars,  so  that  it  does  not 
present  so  harsh  and  stern  an  aspect  to  the  popular  mind. 
But  the  system,  as  such,  is  laid  down  definitely  and  exactly 
in  the  works  of  Calvin,  his  Institutions  mainly,  and  in  the 

*  Catechism. 


JR.E  GENE  RATION  IN  BAPTISM.  13 

decrees  of  tlie  Synod  of  Dort,  These  present  a  clear,  con- 
nected, logical  body  of  doctrine.  As  we  take  the  Anglican 
system  in  its  clearness  and  fulness  of  meaning  and  preciseness 
of  definition,  so  we  take  the  Calvinist  system.  Modifications 
which  the  timorousness,  the  kindliness,  or  the  feebleness  of 
later  times  have  effected,  may  be  allowed  for  in  the  case  of  the 
individual  person,  but  are  not  to  be  taken  in  account  in  an 
exact  and  scientific  comparison  of  the  systems.  Calvin  was 
clear-minded  and  systematic  to  a  very  great  degree.*  His 
Latin  style  is  eminently  definite  and  precise.  He  was  fearless 
and  bold  in  asserting  what  he  considered  the  truth.  There  is 
no  doubt  whatever  as  to  what  was  his  system  and  that  of  the 
Synod  of  Dort. 

]^ow,  this  it  is : 

First.  Man's  nature  is  fallen ;  it  needs  a  regeneration. 

Secondly.  This  regeneration  comes  to  man  from  the  effects 
of  Christ's  death  and  merits. 

Thirdly.  It  is  effected  by  the  power  of  the  Holy  Spirit. 

These,  then,  the  first  maxims  of  the  Anglican  system,  the 
Calvinist  is  willing  to  assert.  However,  the  word  "fallen"  is 
hardly  sufiicient  in  strength  for  him ;  the  high  Calvinist  gene- 
rally prefers  the  words  "totally  depraved." f 

*  Even  his  enemies  acknowledge  tliis.  They  compare  his  Institutions  to 
the  Institutes  of  Justinian,  the  famous  system  of  the  Roman  Law.  "  His 
method,"  says  Schulting,  a  canon  of  Cologne,  "  is  so  clear,  so  subtle  and 
systematic,  that  it  is  deserving  of  comparison  in  these  respects  with  the 
Institutes  of  Justinian,  which  all  lawyers  think  to  be  the  most  systematic 
and  most  methodical  book  ever  written." 

In  fact,  Calvin  was  of  a  legal  family,  himself  trained  in  the  civil  law, 
and  fed  upon  the  Institutes  and  Pandects.  He  thought  in  the  Latin  of  the 
civil  law;  —  its  methods,  its  unrivalled  system,  its  subtle  clearness  of  con- 
nection, all  were  his,  and  above  all,  that  judicial  authority  of  statement  which 
is  so  overpo^cering  to  all  ordinary  men.  Any  one  that  has  read  the  Roman 
Law,  and  the  Institutions  of  the  Christian  Religion,  in  the  original  Latin, 
can  see  their  brotherhood. 

f  The  chief  point  of  difference  between  the  two  great  parties  which  so 
long  divided  the  Protestant  Churches,  the  Calvinists  and  Arminians,  was  on 
the  extent  of  the  vitiation  of  our  nature  by  the  fall.  The  Calvinists  thought 
that  the  corruption  of  man  was  so  great  that  no  spark  of  moral  goodness 


14  REGENERATIOX  IX  BAPTISM. 

Foiirtlily.  All  mankind,  therefore,  being  in  this  condition 
of  total  depravity,  and  unable  to  do  any  good,  it  pleased  God 
to  predestinate  a  certain  portion  of  the  mass  to  salvation,  by 
an  absolute  and  irreversible  decree  of  election ;  and  to  repro- 
bate by  a  decree  of  damnation,  or  else  to  pass  over  and  leave 
to  an  absolute  certainty  of  eternal  misery  all  the  rest. 

Now,  in  order  that  those  predestinated  to  eternal  life  may 
be  saved,  and  the  decree  carried  out : 

Fifthly.  The  elect  receive  at  the  time,  and  by  the  means 
appointed  by  the  unchangeable  decree,  an  eflfectual  calling. 
This  is  the  work  of  irresistible  grace  iipon  their  hearts.  By 
this  they  are  made  sons  of  God.  By  this  they  are  morally  and 
spiritually  regenerated.  By  this  they  are  endued  with  actual 
hohness,  and  the  grace  of  final  perseverance.  They  cannot 
fall  away.  They  are  infallibly  saved.  The  evidence  that 
they  are  regenerated,  to  themselves  and  others,  is  that  they 
are  morally  and  spiritually  changed.  The  tune  of  that  change 
is  the  time  of  their  regeneration. 

Now  admit  the  fundamental  idea  of  this  system,  the  idea 
of  absolute  predestination,  and  all  its  other  conclusions  follow 
as  a  matter  of  course.  But  that  God  absolutely  and  unchange- 
ably predestines  all  tilings,  wherein  does  this  difier  from  the 
old  pagan  idea  of  "  Fate,"  "  Destiny,  "  or  "  Doom  "  ?  Admit 
it  to  be  true,  has  man  any  freedom  of  action  %  Is  he  morally 
responsible  %  Is  he  not  wicked  because  God  has  predestined 
him  so  to  be  ?  or  good  because  the  decree  makes  him  so  ?  And 
again,  is  not  the  decree  everything?  Are  there  any  means 
of  grace — any  means  that  are  real — not  merely  aj)parent? 
Would  not  the  man  be  saved  just  as  well  without  sacraments — 
without  preaching — without  a  Church,  as  with  them  % 

And,  then,  what  is  the  evidence  to  the  man  that  this  great 
change  has  taken  place  in  himself?      It  is  the  knowledge  and 

was  left  in  him ;  that  he  was  utterly  and  totally  bad  and  depraved ;  that, 
however  amiable  he  might  be  in  regard  to  his  fellow  men,  there  was  no 
relic  of  what  he  once  was,  any  more  than  in  lost  spirits  and  damned  souls. 
— Bishop  Browne  on  the  Articles,  vol.  i.  p.  324. 


REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM.  15 

conviction  of  himself  internally,  that  he  is  converted.  Where 
then  is  the  certainty  of  that  fact  to  his  fellows  ?  At  the  first 
it  is  his  simple  word,  his  single  testimony.  Where  is  the  evi- 
dence to  himself  of  that  which  is  actnally  a  miracle,  wrought  by 
the  immediate  power  of  the  Holy  Ghost  ?  He  has  no  evidence, 
save  his  internal  feeling  at  the  time,  his  immediate  conviction 
that  it  is  so.  A  logical  system  of  destiny,  fate,  or  doom, 
founded  upon  abstract  and  general  arguments — whose  validity 
one  educated  man  out  of  one  hundred  will  not  concede — at  the 
one  end  as  a  theoretic  and  doctrinal  premise ;  and  then  at  the 
other  as  a  practical  conclusion,  a  miracle  asserted,  of  which 
there  is  no  visible  evidence,  and  no  certainty  on  the  part  of 
the  supposed  recipient  save  his  own  internal  consciousness  (he 
feels  convinced  and  is  certain  that  it  is  so).  ISTo  wonder  that 
this  system,  disengaged  as  it  is,  in  this  land,  from  European 
politics  and  left  to  its  own  influences  exclusively,  has  produced 
swarms  of  doubts,  uncertainties,  unbeliefs. 

But  with  all  these  faults,  and  many  more,  the  Calvinistic 
doctrine  is  a  system.  And  the  human  mind  clings  to  system. 
Calvinism  is  exact.  It  is  clear.  JSTo  one  can  mistake  its  defini- 
tions and  distinctions.  Place  it  side  by  side  with  any  other  re- 
ligious system,  upon  any  one  point,  and  there  is  no  mistaking 
its  voice.  The  trumpet  of  John  Calvin  gives  no  uncertain 
sound. 

We  proceed  to  compare  it  with  our  own  doctrines,  in  the 
matter  of  regeneration.  "  We  are  made  in  baptism,"  says  the 
Anglican  Catechism,  "  members  of  Christ,  children  of  God, 
inheritors  of  the  kingdom  of  Heaven."  "Being  by  nature 
born  in  sin  and  children  of  wrath,  we  are  hereby  (by  baptism) 
made  the  children  of  grace." 

Here  is  a  means  of  grace,  a  sacrament.  Thus  is  the  time 
and  the  place  of  regeneration  set  and  determined.  It  is  an 
external  and  outward  fact  having  proofs,  witnesses,  evidences. 
An  internal  and  spiritual  grace  is  asserted  as  connected  with 
the  outward  means,  b}^  the  covenant  of  God.  Faith  is  pre- 
scribed as  a  requisite,  and  also   repentance.      An  unvarying 


16  REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM. 

liturgy  asserts  all  these  things.  The  clergyman  openly,  in  its 
unchanging  form  of  words,  demands  the  profession  of  repent- 
ance and  faith,  exacts  the  promises  of  renunciation  and  obedi- 
ence. He  cannot  baptize  the  candidate  without  these.  He 
uses  the  material  form  and  the  words,  then  and  there  baptizing 
the  person  in  the  name  of  the  Father,  and  of  the  Son,  and  of 
the  Holy  Ghost.  And  then,  after  all  this  is  done,  he  declares 
him  or  her  to  be  regenerate.*  What  more  manifest  than  that 
here  is  our  system,  which  asserts  that  we  are  regenerated  in 
baptism,  that  baptism  is  the  sacrament  of  regeneration  ? 

Now  take  the  system  of  Cahauism  and  put  it  side  by  side 
with  this.  When  does  regeneration  take  place,  according  to 
the  Calvinist?  At  any  point  of  time  in  the  man's  life,  that  it 
may  please  God,  from  infancy  to  old  age.  The  time  of  the 
effectual  calling  of  any  man  is  determined  only  by  the  secret 
decree  of  God, — is  part  of  that  decree.  One  person  may  be  re- 
generated just  stepping  out  of  childhood,  another  in  extreme 
old  age,  just  on  this  side  the  gates  of  death. 

Has  regeneration  any  appointed  place  ?  Yes,  in  the  fore- 
knowledge and  decree  of  God,  not  in  the  system  of  nature  and 
man,  or  in  the  order  of  the  visible  Church.  In  the  Church  it 
may  take  place,  on  the  sea,  or  in  the  chamber,  on  the  high- 
way, or  in  the  field,  in  the  mill,  the  ship,  or  the  store — wherever 
God  may  predestine  the  time  and  the  place  of  its  coming  to  be, 
then  and  there  regeneration  comes. 

Is  it  bound  to  sacraments,  so  that  when  the  outward  and 
visible  sign  is  received  in  living  faith,  then  the  promised  bless- 
ing is  received  ?  No,  it  has  no  means  in  this  sense.  Sacra- 
ments are  decent  signs  used  in  compliance  with  the  weakness 
of  man,  signifying  but  not  conveying  grace.  But  the  gift  of 
regeneration  depends  altogether  upon  the  "  decree  of  God," 
any  means  that  he  employs  is  a  means,  or  appears  to  be.  One 
may  be  regenerated  in  baptism,  another  under  the  influences 
of  Gospel  preaching,  another  by  a  word  in  season,  another  by 

*  Baptismal  ser\nces  generally. 


REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM.  lY 

a  torn  leaf  of  the  Bible  or  a  piece  of  a  tract  picked  up  by 
the  way-side. 

All  things  may  appear  to  be  means;  but,  in  reality,  the 
''  absolute  decree  "  is  the  only  means,  the  "irresistible  grace" 
is  the  power  it  employs,  regeneration  is  its  consequence,  and 
the  "effectual  calling"  is  the  only  evidence  to  the  individual 
man. 

Is  it  not  manifest  that  here  is  a  distinct  and  complete  system 
of  ideas  and  conceptions  on  the  subject  of  regeneration  ?  Is  it 
not  evidently  opposed  to  the  Anglican  system,  if  words  mean 
anything?  Is  it  not  manifest  that  the  man  who  holds  it 
honestly  should  not  use  the  Anglican  Catechism,  or  baptize 
with  the  Anglican  formula?  Certainly,  a  plain,  honest  man 
of  good  judgment  and  unprejudiced  mind  must  say  so. 

But  this  brings  us  onward  to  a  most  important  point  of 
comparison.  The  Anglican  asserts  that  "  in  (the  sacrament  of) 
baptism  we  are  regenerated."  He  defines  that  "  a  sacrament 
is  an  outward  and  visible  sign  of  an  inward  and  spiritual  grace, 
instituted  by  Christ  himself."  With  him,  therefore,  sacraments 
are  a  necessary  part  of  the  Gospel  system,  for  it  seems  they 
are  means  which  God  has  appointed,  there  are  graces  given  in 
them  which  are  not  given  in  any  other  way. 

The  Calvinist  uses  the  word  "  sacrament,"  it  is  true  ;  but 
in  no  proper  sense  does  he  employ  it,  for  the  doctrine  of  sacra- 
ments is  manifestly  no  part  of  his  system.*  Nothing,  according 
to  him,  occurs  by  a  sacrament,  through  it,  or  at  it,  that  may 
not  occur  by,  through,  or  at  the  occurrence  of  anything  else. 
In  fact,  look  at  it  logically.  Examine  it  also  by  the  test  of  the 
practical  results  of  experience,  and  you  will  see  that  the  system 

*  Dr.  Cunningham,  of  the  Free  Church  of  Scotland,  the  denomination  to 
which  Chalmers  belonged,  thus  expresses  himself  in  regard  to  sacraments  : 
"  All  Protestants  regard  them  as  mere  appendages  to  the  word  or  the 
truth,  and  as  exerting  no  influence  whatsover  apart  from  the  faith  which  the 
participation  in  them  expresses." — "  Historical  Theology,"  vol.  i.  p.  13,  cited 
in  Literary  Churchman,  Jan.,  1863.  If  this  does  not  deny  that  the  Spirit 
employs  the  sacraments  as  a  means  of  grace  in  the  Church  by  the  institution 
of  Christ,  we  do  not  know  what  it  does  mean. 

2 


18  REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM. 

of  Calvin  has  logically  no  place  for  the  old  Church  doctrine  of 
sacraments.  It  is  perfect  without  that  doctrine.  It  is  incon- 
sistent with  it.  And  when  they  are  brought  together,  it  finally 
eliminates  and  wholly  casts  out  the  doctrine  of  sacraments. 
Antecedent,  therefore,  to  the  exposition  of  the  Church's  doc- 
trine of  regeneration  in  baptism,  and  necessary  to  it,  is  the 
Church's  doctrine  of  the  nature  and  effects  of  sacraments  in 
general.  This,  therefore,  we  consider  in  a  separate  discussion.* 
But  this  last  consideration  brings  us  to  another  thought 
most  important  in  this  discussion.  When  we  come  to  the 
ground  and  basis  of  the  doctrine  of  sacraments,  we  find  that 
they  rest  upon  the  doctrine  of  a  Church, — the  doctrine  that 
our  Lord  instituted  a  society  for  the  propagation  and  mainten- 
ance of  His  religion.  This  being  a  visible  society,  organized 
by  Him,  was  by  His  power  and  His  providence  to  have  a 
continuous  existence  upon  the  earth  throughout  all  ages  to  the 
end  of  time.  This  is  the  One  Holy  Catholic  and  Apostolic 
Church.  I^^ow  Calvinism  finds  such  an  idea  in  existence  in  the 
language  and  thoughts  of  all  Christians.  It  therefore  must 
use  the  word.  But  to  it  as  a  system  the  idea  and  the  thing  is 
of  no  importance.  For  a  system  founded  upon  absolute  pre- 
destination the  fact  does  not  exist.  Calvinism,  therefore,  uses 
the  word  "  Church,"  but  attaches  to  it  a  different  meaning. 
The  "  elect"  must  all  be  known  to  God.  Their  number,  there- 
fore, in  His  secret  knowledge,  is  precisely  recounted.  The 
number,  then,  of  the  elect,  in  the  secret  counsel  of  God,  is  the 
Church.  The  Church,  then,  is  invisible;  by  the  decree  the  man 
who  is  elect  is  admitted  to  it.  Nay,  he  is  within  it  before  he 
was  converted,  before  he  was  born — has  never  been  outside  of 
it,  nor  ever  can  be.  This  is  the  real  and  true  Church  of  Christ 
according  to  Calvin.  The  visible  Church  is  a  mere  conven- 
ience, a  mere  congregation  of  men,  of  no  importance  in  any 
way.  You  may  give  it  a  decent  respect,  but  it  is  not  the 
Church  of  Christ  in  any  more  than  an  outward  sense.     The 

*  See  "  The  Doctrine  and  Rationale  of  Sacraments,"  by  the  author  of  this 
book. 


REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM.  19 

Church  visible  has  no  gifts  to  give  to  man,  no  graces.  There 
is  nothing  in  it  that  does  not  come  from  the  members  that 
belong  to  it. 

Assert  the  doctrine  of  sacraments,  and  you  assert  the  doc- 
trine of  a  Church  in  our  own  sense.  Assert  the  scheme  and 
system  of  Calvin,  you  deny  at  once  the  doctrine  of  a  Church 
and  the  doctrine  of  sacraments.  Hence  can  we  see  at  once  why, 
in  our  system,  a  distinct  and  fervent  assertion  of  the  fact  and 
doctrine  of  an  Apostolic  and  Catholic  Church  goes  along  with 
our  doctrine  of  sacraments ;  and  both  are  connected  with  the 
doctrine  of  regeneration  in  baptism.  We  can  also  see  how  the 
Calvinistic  bodies  are  equally  opposed  to  both — with  equal 
energy  deny  the  doctrine  of  a  visible  Church  and  of  regeneration 
in  the  sacrament  of  baptism. 

The  next  doctrine  we  specify  is,  that  we  are  saved  by  faith 
alone;  which  we  suppose  means  the  faith  of  the  individual 
man,  without  any  other  means  of  grace.  As  we  intend  this 
book  to  be  rather  an  exposition  of  our  own  doctrine  than  a 
discussion  and  refutation  of  those  of  others,  "we  shall  pass  this 
by  with  the  mere  remark,  that  upon  the  matter  of  regenera- 
tion, all  objections  to  the  system  of  Calvin  lie  equally  against 
this. 

Our  readers  will  please  remark,  in  reference  to  the  systems 
we  have  enumerated,  that  all  of  these,  Anglican,  Calvinist,  and 
Lutheran  alike,  take  regeneration  to  be  a  supernatural  gift,  a 
state  which  is  the  gift  of  God  in  this  world,  and  as  such  can- 
not be  reached  by  any  one,  merely  by  the  exercise  of  his  own 
natural  powers.  We  must,  however,  notice  that  there  is  in 
existence,  in  this  land,  a  large  party  who  have  quite  a  different 
idea.  They  use  the  word  in  a  metaphorical  sense.  As  the 
politician  talks  of  the  regeneration  of  his  party,  they  talk  of 
the  regeneration  of  the  man,  meaning  a  change,  for  the  better, 
wrought  in  him  by  his  own  powers  or  by  the  persuasion  and 
influence  of  others.  We  say  nothing  in  disparagement  of  any 
moral  change  whatsoever.  The  man  who  obeys  the  moral  law 
when  he  formerly  disobeyed  it,  has  made  a  great  step  onward. 


20  REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM. 

Any  conversion,  any  single-minded,  any  conscious  turning 
a/way  from  evil  toward  the  good  {conversio)  is  no  small  gain. 
It  may  take  place  on  merely  prudential,  on  moral,  or  on 
religious  motives ;  still  we  say,  if  real,  it  is  no  small  gain,  God 
forbid  that  we  should  depreciate  or  disparage  any  sincere  and 
real  moral  change. 

But  regeneration  is  something  more  than  this,  in  idea  and  in 
fact.  It  is  the  raising  up  of  fallen  man,  by  the  power  of  the 
Living  Christ  and  the  Holy  Spirit,  into  a  state  of  grace,  which 
of  himself,  by  no  power  of  his  own,  he  could  attain  unto. 
They  who  believe  that  man,  by  nature,  is  born  in  sin,  will  be 
found  generally  to  believe  that  it  is  a  supernatural  change. 
They,  on  the  other  hand,  who  deny  original  sin,  make  regenera- 
tion to  be  merely  a  moral  change.*  Such  persons  cannot 
understand  the  necessity  for  regeneration  in  our  sense,  or  the 
nature  of  it.  They  use  the  precise  and  exact  theological  lan- 
guage of  the  Christian  Church,  in  a  rhetorical  way,  as  they 
might  that  of  a  pagan  mythology,  to  adorn  their  discourse, 
without  any  distidct  understanding  as  to  what  the  words  mean. 
Once  for  all,  we  have  done  with  them.  "We  are  seeking  to 
define  and  expound  the  reality  of  a  grand  Christian  fact  in  all 
its  breadth  and  depth,  the  doctrine  of  the  first  step  in  the 
Christian  life,  that  great  change  which  takes  us  from  death  into 
life,  out  of  the  dominion  of  the  world  into  the  kingdom  of 
heaven ;  and  the  last  persons  to  whom  we  are  thankful  are 
they  who  would  turn  this  reality  into  a  commonplace  meta- 
phor, who  would  take  the  grandest,  the  most  fruitful,  the  most 
practical  fact  and  doctrine  of  the  Gospel,  and  use  the  words 
that  express  its  truth  as  they  would  any  technical  religious 
phrase  of  paganism,  to  adorn  their  rhetorical  discourse. 

It  will  be  seen,  therefore,  that  our  object  in  this  treatise  is 

*  We  cite,  for  example,  the  definition  given  of  regeneration  in  tlie  only 
authoritative  book  ever  published  by  the  Unitarians  of  Europe,  the  "  Raco- 
vian  Catechism " :  "  Regeneration  is  the  changing  of  our  reason,  will,  and 
affections,  and  the  conforming  them  to  the  doctrine  of  Christ  our  Saviour." 
— "  Racovian  Catechism,"  a.d.  1608,  translated  by  Rees.  London,  1818,  p.  254. 


REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM.  21 

mainly  exposition — the  bringing  forth  clearly  and  distinctly  of 
the  doctrine  as  to  regeneration  that  is  held  in  the  Anglican 
Church  and  in  our  own.  Controversy,  discussion,  and  refuta- 
tion come  in  only  incidentally.  Still,  however,  as  this  treatise 
is  intended  to  be  a  practical  one,  it  will  be  our  duty  to  show 
the  beautiful  accordance  of  our  system  with  all  true  morality, 
and  we  may,  therefore,  be  compelled,  as  it  comes  in  our  way 
incidentally,  to  show  the  mistakes  and  errors  of  those  who 
have  abandoned  it.  This  we  hope  to  do  temperately  and 
calmly.  But  we  cannot  be  expected  to  speak  with  apathetic 
indifference  when  we  advocate  that  system  which  the  whole 
Catholic  Church  of  God  held  unanimously  for  fifteen  centu- 
ries,* and  which,  with  the  Scriptures  in  her  hands,  she  asserted 
and  declared  to  be  the  system  of  the  Gospel.f  We  cannot  be 
complimentary  to  systems  antagonistic  and  radically  hostile  to 
this  fundamental  verity.  "We  will  not  eulogize  and  applaud 
doctrines  of  which  we  believe  there  is  not  a  trace  to  be  found 
in  the  Scriptures  apart  from  bad  translation  and  poor  philos- 
ophy.:}:    We   cannot   be   expected   to  glorify  systems  to  the 

*  "  A  learned  writer  (Dr  Wall)  lias  well  proved,  at  large,  and  beyond  all 
reasonable  contradiction,  that  both  the  Oreek  and  Latin  fathers  {i.e.,  the 
Christian  writers  for  twelve  centuries  after  Christ)  not  only  used  that  word 
(regeneration) /or  baptism,  hut  so  appropriated  it  as  to  exclude  any  other  con- 
version or  repentance  not  considered  with  baptism  from  being  signified  by  that 
name;  so  that,  according  to  the  ancients,  regeneration,  or  new  birth,  was 
either  baptism  itself  {including  both  sign  and  thing),  or  a  change  of  man's 
spiritual  state  considered  as  wrought  in  or  through  baptism." — Dr.  Water- 
land  on  Regeneration. 

f  The  judicious  Hooker,  the  pride  of  the  English  Church  and  nation,  re- 
marks, in  regard  to  the  words  of  our  Blessed  Lord  himself,  in  St.  John,  iii.  5, 
"  Except  a  man  be  born  of  water  and  of  the  spirit,  he  cannot  enter  into  the 
kingdom  of  God," — "  that  of  all  the  ancient  Christian  writers,  there  is  not 
one  to  be  found  that  does  not  expound  or  quote  this  place  as  connected  with 
external  baptism."  See  the  third  part  of  this  treatise,  on  the  Scripture 
proofs  of  our  doctrine. 

:j:  Predestination,  in  the  sense  of  absolute  decrees,  doom,  destiny,  or 
fate,  is  simply  the  pagan  philosophy  of  the  Stoics.  And  in  tJie  original 
Greek  of  the  New  Testament  there  is  no  word  with  any  such  sense.  Pre- 
destination, the  term  and  the  idea,  was  introduced  into  Christian  theology 


22  REOENERATION  IN  BAPTISM. 

result  of  whose  principles,  carried  out  earnestly,  by  sincere  and 
pious  men,  under  the  impression  that  they  are  the  pure  Gospel, 
we  attribute  the  wide-extended  non-professorism  and  infidelity 
in  this  land,  which  we  ourselves  have  seen  in  action,  com- 
porting themselves  with  a  fierce  dogmatic  intolerance,  a  fiery 
fanaticism,  a  jealous  and  denunciatory  proscriptiveness  which, 
after  the  "revival"  or  the  "camp-meeting"  was  passed,  even 
the  very  actors  therein  could  not  believe  that  they  had  used, 
and  yet  the  community  aroimd  had  seen  with  their  eyes,  and 
been  repelled  thereby  from  Christianity.  These  systems  we 
cannot  be  expected  to  praise.  We  think  them  unscriptural 
and  injurious  in  their  influence,  and  therefore  we  affect  no  in- 
difference. 

And  disliking,  as  we  do,  the  systems  alluded  to,  we  must 
say  that  we  have  met  many  of  their  adherents,  many  of  their 
advocates,  who  have  been,  in  our  estimation,  better,  a  great 
deal  better,  than  their  systems, — sincere,  devotional,  believing 
men  and  women,  in  whose  hearts  and  lives,  as  far  as  we  could 
judge,  the  Holy  Spirit  of  Christ  our  Lord  truly  reigned.  But 
not,  we  believe,  because  of  their  systems,  but  in  despite  of 
them, — because  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  because  of  the  Scriptures, 
because  of  "  the  light  that  lighten eth  every  man  that  cometh 
into  the  world,"  although  under  systems  antagonist  to  the 
Church  of  God  and  her  teaching.  And  in  these  cases  we  have 
fully  seen  the  duty  there  is  upon  the  Christian  to  hate  any 
system  Avhich  is  false  and  hostile  to  the  Gospel,  and  yet  to  pity 
and  love  the  man  who  unhappily  is  entangled  in  its  meshes. 

One  consideration  more  there  is,  of  no  small  importance. 
Eegeneration  is  a  new  birth.  JSTow  birth,  natural  or  spiritual, 
is  the  entrance  into  a  new  life  and  a  new  world.  It  is  there- 
fore only  a  beginning,  only  a  first  step.  How  and  by  what 
means  that  life  is  maintained,  by  what  food  it  is  nourished 
and  brought  to  perfection,  is  another  question.  In  all  such 
questions  there  are  two  distinct  considerations.     A  birth  is  a 

in  the  Latin  Church,  and  in  the  Latin  version  of  the  Scriptures,  nearly  four 
hundred  years  after  Christ. 


REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM.  23 

fact  occurring  but  once,  at  a  determinate  point  of  time.  "We 
shall  not  now  discuss  the  matter,  but  suppose  for  the  moment 
that  it  is  so  with  the  spiritual  birth,  that  it  takes  place  only 
once  and  at  the  moment.  Now  suppose  that  the  person  has 
true  repentance  for  past  sins ;  that  he  has  true  faith  in  Christ 
our  Lord ;  that  having  these  as  conditions,  he  is  new-born, 
regenerated — what  is  his  state  then  ?  All  parties  will  unani- 
mously answer,  that  his  sins  are  all  forgiven ;  he  is  placed  in  a 
condition  of  acceptance  with  God  through  Christ ;  he  is  made 
a  "son  of  God;"  he  has  received  the  ''adoption  of  sons." 
All  this  is  consummated. 

Suppose  that  at  that  very  moment  the  man  dies.  All 
Christians  will  say  then  that  he  is  saved.  He  passes  at  once 
from  the  state  of  grace  to  that  of  glory.  This  must  be  the 
conclusion  on  any  theory  whatever  of  regeneration. 

But  it  is  not  always  the  case  that  the  man  dies  immediately 
upon  his  regeneration.  Nay,  it  is  most  unfrequently  so. 
Ordinarily  he  has  a  great  portion  of  his  life  to  live  before  he 
passes  to  his  final  account.  How,  during  all  that  period,  is  his 
spiritual  life  maintained,  so  far  as  the  man  himself  is  con- 
cerned ?  The  answer  is,  by  a  true  and  living  faith.  And  by 
that  he  is  justified,  that  is,  continues  in  a  state  of  forgiveness 
and  acceptance  with  God. 

Here  there  are  two  questions  of  fact  and  doctrine :  the  ques- 
tion of  regeneration,  or  the  birth  into  a  new  life;  the  question 
of  justification,  or  the  maintenance  of  the  man  in  a  permanent 
enjoyment  of  the  privileges  of  that  life.  These  questions  are 
distinct.  In  the  Creed  the  distinction  of  these  two  questions 
is  very  clearly  indicated  in  the  words,  "  I  believe  in  the  Holy 
Catholic  Church  ;  "  and  again,  "  in  the  Communion  of  Saints." 
By  baptism  we  are  regenerated,  made  members  of  the  Holy 
Catholic  Church.  Bj  a  living  faith  we  are,  having  once  for  all 
been  regenerated,  members  of  the  Communion  of  Saints,  "  true 
saints,  men  of  real  holiness,"  *  justified,  accepted  before  the 
throne  of  God.  The  question,  then,  of  regeneration  is  a  dif- 
*  Bishop  Pearson  on  this  Article  of  the  Creed. 


24  REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM. 

ferent  one  from  that  of  justification.     The  subjects  are  distinct; 
and  yet  the  one  doctrine  is  a  complement  to  the  other. 

We  have  intended  to  follow  up  this  treatise  by  a  series  of 
essays  upon  True  Christian  Faith ;  but  we  say  so  much  upon 
the  subject,  as  we  do  here,  to  clear  away  at  the  first  a  cause  of 
error.  For,  by  many,  regeneration  and  justification  are  de- 
clared to  be  identical,  and  the  questions  concerning  them  are 
confounded,  because  they  often  concur  and  exist  together  in  the 
same  person  at  the  same  time.  Such  a  mistake  is  frequently 
made  by  men  of  all  shades  of  opinion. 

One  thing  more  we  have  to  say  to  our  readers.  If  we  look 
to  the  history  of  the  English  Church,  we  shall  find,  from  the 
days  of  Edward  the  Sixth  (a.d.  1547),  down  to  the  overthrow 
of  the  Church  in  the  time  of  Cromwell,  the  Puritan  party  were 
very  energetic  in  propagating  the  principles  of  Calvinism,  and 
making  adherents ;  but  more  so,  if  possible,  in  creating  odium, 
sowing  hatred  and  prejudice  broadcast,  and  exciting  popular 
feelino^  against  the  Church  and  her  doctrines.  In  this  land, 
the  Puritan,  or  the  Methodist  principles,  have  predominated. 
As  all  men  are  at  liberty  to  worship  God  as  their  conscience 
dictates,  there  is  here  more  candor  and  freedom  than  in  Euroj)e, 
and  less  of  the  blind,  intolerant  fury  of  religious  hatred,  sharp- 
ened by  political  disabilities.  But  still  there  is  in  existence 
the  same  willingness  on  the  part  of  these  sects  to  accept  as 
true,  against  the  Church,  all  the  odious  prejudices,  all  the  ac- 
cumulated hatred  of  past  times.  And,  more  than  this,  there 
is  an  unwillingness  to  understand  or  comprehend  our  sys- 
tem,— a  desire  not  to  hear  what  we  have  to  say  in  our  own 
defence.  Every  clergyman  of  the  Church  who  has  been  in  ac- 
tive life  can  say  that  this  is  one  of  our  main  difficulties.  Per- 
sons who  will  expound  their  own  systems  at  full  length,  and 
be  listened  to  by  us,  and  think  it  unjust  if  they  are  not,  M'ill 
stop  their  ears  against  any  explanation  from  us,  any  attempt 
to  show  the  reasonableness  and  Scripturalness  of  our  doctrine. 
An  Episcopal  clergyman,  therefore,  owing  to  these  widely- 
sown  prejudices,  is  at  a  very  great  disadvantage.      Instead  of 


REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM.  25 

saying,  as  they  would  do  in  reference  to  a  Roman  Catholic  or 
an  Unitarian,  "the  man  is  bold  and  consistent  and  honest  in 
advocating  the  platform  of  principles  upon  which  he  stands," 
even  sensible  men  begin  to  call  names,  and  refuse  to  listen.  It 
has  been,  to  our  own  personal  knowledge,  an  injury  to  the  cler- 
gy of  our  Church  to  hold  the  doctrines  of  the  Church,  although 
it  was  done  calmly,  consistently,  and  religiously.  And  again, 
to  others  of  our  own  clergy  it  has  been  a  profit,  in  money  and 
standing,  to  join  the  popular  outcry  of  the  "religious  world," 
that  is,  the  mass  of  professors,  Calvinist  and  Methodist,  against 
the  doctrines  of  their  own  Church  and  their  own  Prayer  Book. 

From  all  these  considerations,  it  is  manifest  that  at  this 
present  time  there  is  room  for  a  new  exposition  of  our  doc- 
trines upon  the  matter  of  baptismal  regeneration,  adapted  to 
the  circumstances  of  our  own  Church,  in  our  own  land,  and 
depending  for  its  proof  upon  our  standards,  the  Bible  and  the 
Prayer  Book.  We  acknowledge  that  this  is  a  difhcult  task, 
when  the  mass  of  Christians  are  pledged  to  systems  which  are 
essentially  antagonistic,  essentially  hostile,  to  ours ;  when  the 
accumulated  prejudice  and  odium  which  they  have  been  bring- 
ing against  us  for  three  hundred  years  are  constantly  kept 
afloat  in  the  air,  constantly  blown  back  upon  us  by  the  breath 
of  a  majority,  after  we  have  labored  to  clear  them  away.  Yery 
liard  it  is,  when  the  leaders  of  the  various  denominational  sys- 
tems, if  they  become  convinced  of  their  untruth  and  of  our 
Scripturalness,  must  renounce  all  their  interests,  abandon  their 
means  of  living  and  all  their  social  pleasures  and  connections, 
as  the  price  of  their  conversion.  The  leaders  are  thus  pledged, 
by  the  heavy  penalty  of  what  is  actually  a  large  pecuniary 
fine  and  a  social  excommunication  and  proscription,  against 
all  changes,  in  favor  of  antiquated  formulas  and  hereditary 
hatreds  and  prejudices.  It  is  very  hard  for  the  Church  system 
to  make  headway  against  such  a  current,  to  go  against  so  great 
a  multitude. 

Yet  we  believe  that  our  doctrine  is  the  Scriptural  and  ortho- 
dox doctrine.     We  believe  that,  being  clearly  understood  and 


426  REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM. 

practically  acted  upon,  it  is  true  to  all  the  facts  of  man's  nature 
and  state,  satisfactory  to  all  his  needs,  sufficient  for  all  his  re- 
quirements. We  believe  that  it  agrees  with  the  system  of 
God's  providence  in  the  government  of  this  world,  and  with 
the  constitution  which  He  has  given  to  man.  We  know  that, 
standing  upon  it,  preaching  it,  understanding  it,  the  Christian. 
Church,  at  unity  in  itself,  as  having  a  clear,  working,  har- 
monious system  of  doctrine,  went  on  in  early  ages  triumph- 
antly as  a  missionary  Church,  and  gathering  into  its  bosom 
dense  masses  of  population,  whole  nations  of  the  heathen, 
subdued  and  trained  and  educated  them  to  Christ.  We  be- 
lieve that  in  all  these  respects,  these  other  systems  have  neces- 
sarily the  contrary  results. 

Yet  the  age  of  controversy  is  past.  Men  having  free 
choice,  by  their  position  as  American  citizens,  among  all 
Churches,  all  sects,  and  all  denominations,  are  naturally  in- 
clined to  listen  to  good  asserted,  instead  of  evil  imputed. 
They  prefer  that  the  clergy  of  any  system  should  advocate 
and  expound  their  own  doctrine  rather  than  display  the  evil 
consequences  of  any  other.  They  are  inclined,  in  a  word,  to 
give  their  attention  to  exposition  rather  than  to  controversy. 

And,  besides  this,  there  is  at  present  a  continual  restless- 
ness among  professors,  a  discontented  and  unsatisfied  state 
among  the  masses  of  the  religious  world,  so  called,  which 
makes  them  feel  as  if  in  their  position  there  was  something 
wrong,  as  if  the  foundation  upon  which  they  are  now  placed 
were  not  exactly  sure.  Men  are  becoming  more  willing  than 
of  old  to  listen  to  the  truth  distinctly  and  precisely  stated,  if 
the  tone  be  temperate  and  calm,  if  it  be  the  voice  of  exposi- 
tion, not  of  controversy. 

Our  plan,  therefore,  in  this  book,  is  to  this  effect.  We 
take  our  own  standards  first.  From  them  we  set  forth  the  sys- 
tem they  contain.  We  show  from  their  own  words  what  is 
their  doctrine,  so  manifestly  and  plainly,  that  no  one  shall  be 
able  to  mistake  it.  We  declare  from  them  that  the  doctrine  of 
the  Church  is  the  doctrine  of  regeneration  in  baptism,  that  this 


REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM.  27 

is  their  system.  In  this  first  part,  we  profess,  from  the 
standards  of  the  Church,  to  lay  out  that  system  in  its  propor- 
tions, and  to  show  the  several  constituent  parts  of  the  doctrine 
in  their  mutual  relations.  As  we  have  a  system,  let  us  declare 
it,  let  its  several  elements  be  clearly  understood  by  ourselves 
and  by  our  opponents.  This  is  the  first  question  to  set  forth, 
to  expound,  to  define,  so  that  we  shall  clearly  comprehend 
what  our  faith  is,  and  thus  to  remove  all  confusion  and  misap- 
prehension. Ignorance  lies  in  midnight  darkness,  error  flies 
to  the  uncertain  gloom  of  twilight,  the  region  that  lies  between 
day  and  night. 

We  think  that  this  method  of  laying  down  in  precise 
terms  exactly  what  our  system  is,  first,  and  then  after  that  of 
expounding  it  from  the  Scriptures,  is  far  better  than  the  liate- 
ful,  sceptical  method  of  discussion  that  is  usual  at  this  day. 
We  have  heard  from  the  pulpit,  a  preacher  begin  his  discourse 
with  a  proposal,  "calmly  and  without  prejudice,  to  examine, 
by  reason,  the  question  as  to  whether  there  is  in  existence,  ac- 
tually and  truly,  such  a  being  as  God."  The  man's  method 
was  utterly  wrong,  entirely  sceptical.  He  was  bound,  as  an 
honest  man,  before  he  undertook  to  preach,  to  be  so  absolutely 
certain,  that  discussion  and  examination  on  this  point  were  for 
him  all  past  and  gone  through.  And  then,  after  that,  to  preach, 
to  declare  with  assured  authority,  and  to  expound  the  truth  as 
a  commissioned  ambassador  of  Christ,  was  his  only  true  and 
consistent  course. 

After  this  first  part  of  our  treatise,  which  may  be  called 
the  legal  and  documentary  part,  comes  naturally  the  practical 
part,  the  showing  that  the  doctrine  is  a  portion  of  the  great 
doctrinal  system  of  the  Gospel ;  that  it  harmoniously  agrees 
with  the  other  doctrines  that  are  acknowledged  by  all  Chris- 
tians to  be  true ;  that  it  is  a  central  organ,  an  essential  constituent 
of  the  living  body  of  Christian  truth  ;  that  to  tear  it  away  is  to 
leave  the  whole  system  mangled  and  dying;  to  recognize  its 
position  and  act  upon  it,  is  to  accept  the  system  of  the  Gospel 
as  perfect,  and  endued  with  its  whole  vital  force  and  harmony. 


28  REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM. 

Thirdly  and  lastly,  we  undertake  to  demonstrate  that  the 
doctrine  is  Scriptural,  that  it  is  in  reality  the  only  doctrine  of 
regeneration  which  the  Scriptures  teach,  and  which  agrees 
with  the  whole  range  of  the  Gospel;  that  it  is,  being  rightly 
understood  and  acted  upon  in  a  true  faith,  the  literal  and 
common-sense  system  of  practical  Christianity,  as  seen  in  the 
Scripture. 

Of  course  we  are  aware  that  in  asserting  these  facts  we 
encounter  the  prejudices  and  contradict  the  accumulated  sect- 
opinion  of  three  hundred  years.  Yet,  still,  the  attempt  to 
display  the  truth  in  its  beautiful  proportions  to  the  minds  that 
are  seeking  for  it;  little  by  little  to  cleanse  away  the  stains  of 
falsehood,  the  accumulated  deformities  of  prejudice,  so  that 
the  fair  statue,  in  all  its  beauty  of  proportion,  its  lucid  glory  of 
form,  shall  stand  manifest  and  unveiled  to  the  eyes  of  all  men, 
this  is  no  ignoble  task.  And  such  as  this  we  account  the  work 
that  we  here  undertake,  of  bringing  forward  before  the  eyes 
of  all  men,  in  its  perfect  religious  and  moral  beauty  and  truth 
and  harmony,  the  doctrine  of  our  Church,  that,  in  holy  bap- 
tism, all  persons,  who  have  the  requisite  qualifications,  receive 
regeneration  from  God,  the  Father  Almighty;  through  the 
Spirit,  the  Lord  and  the  Giver  of  life ;  and  through  Jesus 
Christ,  our  Saviour,  the  Redeemer  of  fallen  man. 


BOOK    I. 

OUR   STAl^DARDS. 


f-?w%*' 


CHAPTER  I. 

We  have  in  our  preliminary  chapter  declared  our  method 
in  this  treatise  to  be  that  of  exposition,  not  of  controversy.  It 
is  therefore  our  first  work  to  lay  out  distinctly  the  declarations 
of  our  standards.  This  will  place  before  the  reader  the  system 
which  we  consider  adequately  to  represent  the  truth  of  Holy 
Writ,  the  system,  that  is,  which  is  contained  in  the  Prayer 
Book.  And  seeing  that  there  are  two  other  systems,  and  that 
their  several  advocates  have  the  Scriptures  in  their  hands,  at 
least  in  the  English  version,  and  profess  honestly  to  base  their 
doctrines  upon  them,  our  readers  can  see  that  any  other  course 
than  that  which  we  have  adopted  would  plunge  us  at  once  into 
endless  controversy  and  debate.  We  must,  therefore,  lay  out 
and  define  the  system  of  the  Church  first,  by  giving  in  full  all 
her  own  sentiments  in  her  own  words,  so  that  all  men,  with 
the  Prayer  Book  in  their  hands,  may  see,  at  a  glance,  their 
meaning  and  intent.  After  this  the  agreement  of  these  defi- 
nitions with  the  Scripture  will  come  up  for  examination,  and 
also  their  practical  use  in  reference  to  piety  and  life. 

What  does  the  Prayer  Book  say  upon  the  doctrine  of  re- 
generation ?  This  is  a  question  which  honest  and  sincere  men, 
within  and  without  the  Church,  have  a  right  to  have  answered. 
And  we  intend  to  put  it  in  such  a  light  that  they  can  answer 
it  easily  for  themselves,  by  looking  up  the  passages  as  we  give 
them.  And  thus  having  seen,  with  their  own  eyes,  that  there 
is  an  exact  and  practical  system  clearly  set  forth  in  the  Prayer 
Book,  they  can  follow  us  further  onward,  and  consider  the 
agreement  of  that  system  with  Holy  Writ,  and  its  usefulness 
in  promoting  faith  and  piety. 


32  REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM. 

Now,  we  would  point  out  to  our  readers  some  things 
which  distinguish  the  Church,  in  this  land,  from  any  of 
the  so-called  orthodox  denominations  in  reference  to  this 
matter  of  standards  of  doctrine.  They  generally  have,  or 
have  had,  "  articles  of  faith."  The  Westminster  Confession, 
the  Articles  of  the  Synod  of  Dort,  the  Saybrook  Platform, 
are  examples  which  all  will  recognize.  The  minister  is  bound 
to  a  conformity  of  doctrine  with  one  or  other  of  these  sets  of 
articles.  His  official  performances,  in  the  congregation,  are 
to  conform  to  them  as  standards. 

His  services,  moreover,  are  generally  extemporaneous.  In 
this  he  has  a  great  advantage  over  us,  as  concerns  the  matter 
of  standards,  or  rather  a  great  disadvantage.  Our  services  are 
liturgical,  that  is,  in  a  form  precomposed  and  unvarying.  The 
effect  of  this  fact,  since  a  liturgy  demands  literal  exactness  in 
its  use,  is  to  give  us  fixity  of  doctrine  upon  many  points 
whereupon  others  are  left  to  their  own  opinion,  and  undeter- 
mined. 

In  fact,  liturgic  worship  brings  forth  and  establishes  the 
services  of  the  Church  themselves  as  standards,  with  a  fre- 
quency of  impression  and  a  solemn  exactness  of  faith  which  no 
mere  articles  can  ever  attain  unto.  As  a  small  instance,  we 
here  adduce  the  second  petition  in  the  Litany.  Cannot  any 
thoughtful  person  see,  at  once,  that  the  prayer — "  O  God,  the 
Son,  Redeemer  of  the  world ;  have  mercy  upon  us  miserable 
sinners ! " — embraces  a  solemn  affirmation  of  the  divinity  of 
our  Blessed  Lord  and  Saviour  Jesus  Christ?  Do  not  the 
clergy  and  the  laity,  therefore,  who  publicly  use  that  petition, 
assert  that  doctrine  emphatically  and  solemnly  ?  If  the  Litany 
is  of  binding  authority,  does  not  that  doctrine  bind  them? 
Will  the  man  who  denies,  or  the  man  who  even  doubts,  the 
divinity  of  Christ,  use  this  petition?  Will  he  not  rather 
abstain  from  uttering  it  ?  Again,  take  the  petition,  "  From 
everlasting  damnation,  good  Lord  deliver  us ! "  Is  it  not 
manifest  that  this  also  is  a  most  stringent  article  against  Uni- 
versalism  ? 


REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM.  33 

But  there  is  a  more  telling  instance  still  in  the  Prayer  Book 
in  the  case  of  the  Collects.  These  terse  and  beautiful  forms  of 
prayer  were  peculiar  to  the  Latin,  or  "Western  Church.  Now 
the  great  genius  and  saint  of  the  Latin  Church  was  St.  Augus- 
tine. He  opposed  the  Pelagian  heresy,  and  as  against  it 
brought  forth  the  doctrines  of  grace  in  the  most  admirable  way, 
with  an  unfortunate  adjunct  (which  he  received,  most  likely, 
from  his  rhetorical  pagan  studies)  of  the  Stoic  doctrine  of  fatal- 
ism, or  absolute  predestination.  Now,  our  Collects  are  taken 
verhatim,  the  most  of  them,  from  the  Sacramentaries  of  the 
Roman  bishops,  Leo  the  Great,  Gelasius,  and  Gregory  the 
Great.  We  examine  the  works  of  these  men,  and  we  see  that 
their  mission  was  to  give  to  the  Western  Church  the  doctrines 
of  grace  without  fate,  Augustinism  without  its  absolute  pre- 
destination. In  this  point  of  view,  if  we  examine  the  whole 
series  of  our  Collects  we  see  that  day  after  day,  through  the 
whole  Church  year,  the  doctrines  of  grace  without  fatal- 
ism are  asserted  in  these  Collects,  and  that  in  an  exact  and 
precise  verbal  shape,  the  most  devotional  and  the  most  earnest. 
We  ask,  is  not  this  liturgic  fact,  as  against  Pelagianism,  more 
efficient  than  any  amount  of  articles  ? 

Let  us,  then,  in  this  point  of  view,  consider  our  services, 
and  we  shall  find  that  we  have,  in  various  ways,  a  very  bind- 
ing and  a  very  distinct  series  of  standards  running  through 
the  whole  Prayer  Book.  For  thus  we  see  that,  under  the  au- 
thority of  the  Church,  every  sentence  in  every  liturgic  form  of 
faith,  of  prayer,  or  praise  becomes,  by  the  concurrent  use  and 
consent  of  the  priest  and  the  people,  constantly  uniting  in 
them,  a  most  stringent  article.  The  Lord's  Prayer  becomes  a 
creed ;  the  Litany  and  Collects,  standards  of  faith ;  the  whole 
wide  range  of  the  psalms  in  the  Psalter  a  most  extensive  and 
precise  system  of  dogmas  concerning  the  truths  of  God's  being 
and  his  dealings  in  the  world  with  man.  The  public  use  of  a 
vernacular  liturgy  has,  as  regards  the  faith  of  the  Holy  Catholic 
Church,  a  precision  and  definiteness,  a  power  and  influence  in 
forming  and  retaining  doctrinal  opinion,  a  wide-extended,  all- 
3 


34  REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM. 

embracing  harmony  of  faith,  which  no  system  of  articles,  man- 
made,  written,  signed,  and  sworn  to,  ever  can  attain. 

Having  seen  these  effects  of  precomposed  liturgic  forms, 
we  go  on  to  examine  our  Prayer  Book,  and  there  in  daily  use 
we  behold  a  series  of  most  venerable  Church  forms,  which  have 
framed  and  moulded  in  this  way  the  faith  of  the  untold  myriads 
of  the  Church  from  the  earliest  apostolic  times  down  to  our 
own  days.  These  unchanging  forms,  used  day  by  day  through 
the  whole  Christian  year,  in  the  worship  of  the  Church,  are, 
undoubtedly,  standards  of  the  most  exact  kind.  From  them, 
therefore,  we  are  sure  to  find  the  living  faith  of  the  Church. 
And  these,  in  the  Book  of  Common  Prayer,  are  of  various 
degrees  of  authority. 

First  of  all,  we  place  the  Apostles'  Creed,  which  is  re- 
quired, as  a  profession  of  faith,  of  every  person  at  his  baptism. 
This  is  the  apostolic  faith  of  the  primitive  Western  Church ; 
and  on  the  same  level  of  authority  stands  the  Nicene  Creed, 
the  baptismal  faith  of  the  primitive  Eastern  Church,  which 
was  very  early  adopted  as  its  Eucharistic  Creed  by  the  "West- 
ern Church.  These,  manifestly,  are  the  highest  and  weightiest 
class  of  documents  in  the  Church,  as  being  the  most  ancient 
and  most  Catholic  Creeds,  and  as  used  upon  the  most  solemn 
occasions  of  baptism  and  communion,  obligatory  also  upon  all 
Christians,  both  clergy  and  laity. 

ISText  we  shall  take  the  Church  services.  These,  as  we  have 
said,  are  liturgic,  of  a  precomposed  form,  not  extemporaneous. 
Kow,  applying  what  we  have  said  before,  is  it  not  manifest 
that  they  also  contain  definite  doctrinal  propositions,  distinct 
assertions  in  matters  of  faith,  although  they  are  liturgical  ? 
The  second  petition  of  the  Litany,  as  we  have  shown,  has 
clearly  in  it,  by  a  simple  analysis,  the  assertions,  first,  that  "  the 
Redeemer  is  God,"  and  secondly,  that  "  He  is  Redeemer  of  the 
world,"  not  of  a  few  only. 

Another  thought :  these  propositions  are  afiirmed,  by  us,  in 
prayer,  and  as  in  God's  presence,  that  is,  before  God,  and  in  a 
solemn  appeal  unto  God.      They  partake,  therefore,  of  the 


REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM.  36 

nature  of  an  oath,  which  is  an  affirmation  of  any  fact  as  true, 
before  God.  Behold,  therefore,  the  doctrinal  solemnity  and 
awfulness  of  liturgic  worship  !  See  the  sacred  weight  that 
its  words,  rightly  considered,  possess ! 

Again,  how  much  is  this  character  of  the  services  enhanced 
when  we  see  that  the  whole  congregation,  old  and  young,  men 
and  women,  children  and  adults,  learned  and  unlearned,  all 
join  in  them,  earnestly,  sincerely,  devotionally,  with  one  mind, 
and  with  one  voice ;  and  that  this  occurs  so  often,  one  hundred 
and  four  times,  at  least,  every  year.  Surely,  these  considera- 
tions show  a  power  of  unanimous  personal  testimony  to  the 
truths  declared  in  the  services  of  the  Church  that  places  them, 
as  doctrinal  standards,  only  second  to  those  most  ancient  and 
revered  formulas  of  faith,  the  Nicene  and  Apostles'  Creeds. 

A  third  document  of  great  importance  is  the  Catechism, 
the  foi-m  of  sound  words  which  the  Church  has  provided  for 
the  education  of  the  young  in  the  principles  of  her  faith.  As 
this  is  to  be  taught  viva  voce  in  catechising,  by  bishops,  pastors, 
and  parents,  we  must  necessarily  take  for  granted  that  they 
believe  it  themselves.  Herein,  also,  we  have  a  series  of  doc- 
trinal propositions,  and  these  are  taught  by  authority  to  the 
young,  publicly  and  openly  in  the  church.  The  binding  power 
and  truth  of  the  Catechism  is  therefore  most  manifest. 

But  more  than  this  is  involved  in  the  position  of  the  Cate- 
chism as  a  manual  for  the  young  of  all  ranks  and  stations. 
There  is  implied  thereby  a  plainness  of  doctrine  in  distinct 
words,  easily  understood,  which  puts  out  of  the  question  all 
subtlety  of  explanation  and  argument,  all  special  pleading,  all 
evasion.  The  words  of  this  document  we  must  take  as  chil- 
dren understand  them,  in  the  evident  and  literal  sense  that  lies 
upon  the  surface, — as  parents  teach  them,  whose  only  quality  for 
the  task  is  piety,  parental  love,  and  ordinary  understanding, 

Next  we  have  the  Articles  of  Religion,  definitions  of  great 
value,  adopted  by  our  General  Convention  from  the  English 
Church,  in  the  year  1801,  the  Prayer  Book  itself  having  been 
accepted  and  ratified  eleven  years  before.     In  England,  the 


36  REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM. 

clergy  subscribe  the  articles,  the  laitj  do  not.*  Here,  neither 
clergy  nor  laity  subscribe  them.  The  clergy  in  our  Church  in 
the  United  States,  at  their  ordination,  subscribe  only  this 
declaration : 

"  I  do  believe  the  Holy  Scriptures  of  the  Old  and  New 
Testament  to  be  the  "Word  of  God,  and  to  contain  all  things 
necessary  to  salvation;  and  I  do  solemnly  engage  to  con- 
form to  the  doctrines  and  worship  of  the  Protestant  Episcopal 
Church  in  the  United  States."  f 

Of  course  this  embraces  the  Articles  of  Religion  as  a 
portion  of  our  doctrinal  standards.  And  for  ourselves  we  sin- 
cerely accept  our  articles  in  their  literal  sense.  We  think  that 
they  hold  clearly  and  distinctly  the  system  of  the  Church.  In 
them  it  is  brought  out,  just  as  in  the  Creeds,  the  Services,  the 
Catechism.  The  wise  man  says,  "A  fourfold  cord  is  not 
quickly  broken."  Through  this  our  fourfold  cord  of  Creeds, 
Services,  Catechism,  and  Articles,  we  shall  clearly  show  that 
one  strand  of  doctrine  runs,  one  system,  compact  and  well 
knit,  upon  the  matter  of  regeneration.  And  this  we  shall  do 
by  bringing  forward  the  very  words  of  the  Book  of  Common 
Prayer  in  its  fourfold  unity  and  harmony  of  faith. 

These,  then,  are  our  standards.  The  Creeds  of  the  Holy 
Catholic  Church  of  the  East  and  West,  first,  as  documents  of 
the  weightiest  importance;  secondly,  the  public  Services  of 
the  Church,  used  by  all  the  people,  both  clergy  and  laity,  in 
their  public  worship,  solemnly  and  unceasingly  through  the 
whole  course  of  the  Christian  year;  thirdly,  the  Catechism 
authoritatively  taught  by  the  Church  to  the  young;  and 
fourthly,  the  Articles  of  Religion. 

Now,  our  readers  having  seen  the  different  ways  in  which 
these  several  classes  of  documents  impress  upon  the  mind  the 
one  harmonious  system  of  truth  which  is  embodied  in  them 
all,  will  please  look  at  them  again  in  another  point  of  view. 
They  will  bear  in  mind  that  our  doctrine  is  no  changeable, 

*  Hook's  "  Church  Dictionary,"  p.  56. 
f  Constitution,  Article  VII. 


REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM.  37 

flitting  expression  of  sentiment ;  no  mere  momentary  declara- 
tion of  personal  opinion,  made  in  the  heat  of  extempore  prayer 
or  preaching.  Our  Prayer  Book  is,  to  all  intents  and  purposes, 
the  Book  of  the  English  Reformation.  Three  centuries  have 
passed,  and  during  that  period  all  the  clergy  of  the  English 
Church,  the  most  learned  and  eloquent,  the  most  pious,  the 
most  judicious,  and  the  most  moderate,  have  used  it  in  their 
public  rmm&ti'dition^,  punctitatim  et  literatim.  Solemnly  before 
their  God,  and  publicly  before  all  His  people,  they  have,  word 
for  word  and  letter  for  letter,  confessed  its  creeds,  prayed  with 
its  prayers,  been  taught,  and  themselves  have  taught,  its 
Catechism,  and  have  signed  its  Articles.  Since  the  time  of 
Cranmer,  for  twelve  generations,  it  has  been  in  every  hand, 
before  every  eye,  in  the  mouth  of  the  millions  now  living  and 
the  millions  that  are  dead  and  gone,  who  have  prayed  in  the 
myriad  churches  of  the  Anglican  fold.  Here  among  ourselves 
it  is  our  Book  of  Common  Prayer,  used  in  our  common 
worship  of  God  by  all  the  clergy  and  all  the  people  of  the 
American  Church,  willingly  and  lovingly. 

They  who  stand  upon  another  system  in  our  land  have 
with  us  no  inducements  to  insincerity  and  duplicity,  no  power 
of  bringing  political  faction  to  bear  upon  religious  questions. 
If  the  system  of  the  Prayer  Book  does  not  please  them,  is  not 
their  system,  they  have  no  State  position  or  State  endowments 
to  retain  or  gain  by  staying  among  us.  ]^o  State  disabilities 
are  upon  them  if  they  leave  us.  All  they  have  to  do  is  to 
transfer  their  allegiance,  to  cross  the  line  toward  the  camp  of 
their  friends. 

Our  readers  will  bear  in  mind  the  weight  of  these  consider- 
ations which  we  have  brought  before  them.  They  will  see  the 
doctrinal  value  of  a  public  liturgy,  prescribed  by  authority  and 
received  by  common  consent,  used  by  whole  nations  for 
hundreds  of  years,  and  varying  not  in  sentences,  words,  or 
syllables,  nay,  hardly  in  the  smallest  comma.  Let  them,  with 
all  these  circumstances  in  their  mind,  peruse  the  extracts  which 
we  shall  give,  and  we  have  not  a  doubt  that  they  will  say  with 


38  REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM. 

US  that  regeneration  in  baptism  is  the  doctrine  of  the  Prayer 
Book  of  our  Church,  which  has  received  that  book,  and  of  the 
English  Church,  which  has  given  it  to  us ;  this,  and  not  the 
equally  distinct  and  definite  system  of  John  Calvin. 

We  do  not  now  enter  into  the  rationale  of  the  doctrine 
of  baptismal  regeneration.  We  do  not  at  this  period  of  our 
treatise  expound  its  agreement  with  the  other  doctrines  of  the 
Gospel,  the  fall  of  man,  original  sin,  the  grace  of  the  Holy 
Spirit,  the  incarnation  and  atonement  of  our  Blessed  Kedeemer. 
Our  readers  already  know  our  opinion,  that  it  takes  for  granted 
the  truth  of  all  these  doctrines,  that  it  asserts  them  all,  and  is 
itself  the  result  of  them  all.  It  rests  upon  them  as  their  com- 
pletion. It  is  the  key-stone  of  the  arch,  the  crowning-stone 
of  the  pyramid.  It  is  supported  by  them  all,  and  again  it 
secures  and  maintains  them  all,  each  and  every  one  in  its  own 
peculiar  and  appropriate  place,  in  the  doctrinal  system  of  God's 
dealings  with  man.  At  another  period  of  this  discussion  we 
shall  consider  the  relation  of  all  these  doctrines,  severally,  to 
the  doctrine  of  baptismal  regeneration. 

And,  furthermore,  we  shall  enter  fully  into  its  uses  as  an 
aid  to  practical  piety.  For  we  are  clearly  convinced  that  the 
highest  and  noblest  piety,  the  loftiest  and  at  the  same  time 
the  lowliest-stooping  goodness,  the  widest  and  the  most  far- 
reaching  benevolence,  are  immediate  and  direct  consequences 
of  holding  thoughtfully  and  understandingly  the  faith  of  the 
Church.  In  other  words,  we  think  and  are  convinced,  by  per- 
sonal and  actual  experience,  that  from  the  system  of  the  Church, 
distinctly  understood  and  faithfully  held  and  acted  upon,  comes 
a  more  full,  a  more  rich,  a  more  deep,  practical  piety  toward 
God  and  man,  than  from  any  of  the  systems  that  have  been 
substituted  for  it.  The  names  of  Hooker,  of  Herbert,  of 
Jeremy  Taylor,  of  Beveridge,  of  Ken,  of  White,  of  Seabury, 
and  of  Hobart,  are  enough  to  allege  at  present  of  the  multi- 
tudes whose  doctrine  and  life  is  recognized  by  all  men,  univer- 
sally, as  having  been  most  truly  in  the  spirit  of  the  Gospel. 

These  considerations,  engaging  as  they  are,  may  be  put  off 


REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM.  39 

to  another  period  of  this  treatise.  Our  present  aim  is  not  the 
discussion  of  these  points,  nor,  indeed,  discussion  or  argument 
in  any  way.  We  simply  wish  to  present  to  our  readers,  at  this 
stage  of  our  inquiry,  the  documentary  evidence  from  the  Prayer 
Book,  in  all  its  four  parts,  that  baptismal  regeneration  is  the 
doctrine  of  our  Church.  We  wish  to  place  hefore  their  eyes 
the  words  which  the  Church  says,  as  to  the  doctrine  of  regen- 
eration, by  the  mouths  of  all  her  bishops,  of  her  tens  of 
thousands  of  clergy,  before  the  eyes  and  in  the  ears  of  millions 
of  people  over  the  world,  every  Lord's  day,  every  time  an 
infant  or  adult  is  baptized,  every  time  a  class  is  catechised  or  a 
confirmation  is  held,  in  the  same  unvarying  form  and  unchang- 
ing sense,  through  all  these  varieties  of  times,  occasions,  and 
offices.  These  are  our  words,  "  printed  in  a  book,"  as  unchang- 
ing and  unvarying  as  if  "  they  were  graven  with  an  iron  pen 
and  lead  in  the  rock  forever."*  What  we  contend  for  here 
is,  that  any  one  who  will  only  read  the  documents  we  produce, 
and  examine  them  by  the  laws  of  the  legal  science  of  evidence, 
merely  as  a  matter  of  testimony,  must  come  to  the  conclusion, 
that  however  men  may  explain  it  away,  or  try  to  evade  it,  the 
doctrine  of  regeneration  in  baptism  is  the  doctrine  of  the 
Church,  upon  the  face  of  all  her  standards. 

We  have  promised  to  spread  the  documents  upon  our 
pages,  so  that,  with  the  evidence  before  their  eyes,  our  readers 
shall  see  for  themselves  and  come  to  their  own  conclusions. 
We  shall  do  more  than  this :  we  will  give  them,  furthermore, 
the  conclusions  of  men  of  great  learning  and  ability,  and  of 
the  most  different  tempers  and  positions,  within  and  without 
the  Church,  who  have  considered  this  evidence,  and  testify  to 
its  meaning  and  its  force, — men  who  have  examined  for  them- 
selves, and  give  their  opinions  freely  and  unconstrainedly.  We 
give,  therefore,  at  this  point  of  our  investigation,  the  estimates 
as  to  what  our  standards  say  and  signify  of  Henry  Melvill, 
the  eminent  Evangelical  pulpit  orator  of  London,  a  man  of 
the  highest  character  for  piety  and  talents ;  of  John  Foster, 

*  Job,  six.  24. 


40  REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM. 

the  distinguished  essayist,  an  English  Baptist ;  of  Greslej,  an 
English  High  Churchman  of  some  considerable  prominence  in 
the  English  Church ;  of  the  eminent  Albert  Barnes  of  Phila- 
delphia, perhaps  the  best  known  New-school  Presbyterian  in 
the  world ;  and  lastly,  of  the  well-known  Spurgeon,  the  English 
Baptist  preacher  in  London.  "We  begin  with  the  testimony  of 
Henry  Melvill : 

"  That  the  Church  of  England  does  hold,  and  does  teach 
haptismal  regeneration,  would  never,  we  must  venture  to 
think,  have  heen  disjputed,  had  not  men  heen  anxious  to  remain 
in  her  communion,  and  yet  to  make  her  formularies  square 
with  their  own  private  notions.  The  words  put  into  the 
mouth  of  the  officiating  minister  immediately  after  every 
baptism,  '  Seeing  now,  dearly  beloved,  that  this  child  is  re- 
generate,' seem,  too  distitict  to  he  explained  away,  and  too 
general  for  any  of  those  limitations  by  which  some  would 
restrict  them.  You  may  tell  me  that  the  Church  speaks  only 
in  the  judgment  of  charity,  on  the  supposition  that  there  has 
been  genuine  faith  in  those  who  have  brought  the  infant  to  the 
font.  But,  6'ye7i  on  this  modified  view,  the  Church  holds  hajp- 
tismal  regeneration  /  she  holds  that,  if  not  invariably,  yet  under 
certain  circumstances,  infants  are  regenerate,  only  hecause  bap- 
tized. We  cannotj  however,  admit  that  the  language  is  only 
the  language  of  that  charity  which  '  hopeth  all  things.'  Had 
the  Church  not  designed  to  go  further  than  this,  slie  might 
have  said,  '  Seeing  that  we  may  charitably  believe,'  or,  '  Seeing 
that  we  may  charitably  hope  that  this  child  is  regenerate ' ;  she 
could  never  have  ventured  on  the  broad  unqualified  declara- 
tion, a  declaration  to  be  made  whensover  the  sacrament  of 
baptism  has  been  administered,  '  Seeing  that  this  child  is  regen- 
erate ' ;  and  then  have  gone  on  to  require  of  the  congregation 
to  express  their  gratitude  in  such  words  as  these,  '  We  yield 
Thee  hearty  thanks,  most  merciful  Father,  that  it  hath  pleased 
Thee  to  regenerate  this  infant  with  Thy  Holy  Spirit.'  We 
really  think  that  no  fair,  no  straightforward  dealing  can  get 
rid  of  the  conclusion,  that  the   Church  holds  what  is  called 


REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM.  41 

haptismal  regeneration.  You  may  dislike  the  doctrine ;  you 
may  wish  it  expunged  from  the  Prayer  Book ;  hut  so  long 
as  I  subscribe  to  that  Prayer  Booh,  and  so  long  as  I  officiate 
according  to  the  forms  of  that  Prayer  Booh,  I  do  not  see  how 
I  can  be  commonly  honest,  and  yet  deny  that  every  baptized 
person  is,  on  that  account,  regenerate.''''  * 

We  ask  our  readers  to  look  at  this  opinion  and  weigh  it 
well.  Calm  and  deliberate  and  resolved,  it  is  manifestly  the 
final  conclusion  of  a  man  of  great  abilities,  of  thorough  knowl- 
edge and  great  judgment,  as  well  as  of  thorough  evangelical 
piety.  And  yet  with  all  this  decision  upon  a  point  so  disputed, 
how  gentle  it  is,  how  little  bitterness  in  it  or  scorn  toward  op- 
ponents. I  am  sorry  to  warn  my  readers  that  it  is  not  so  with 
some  others  of  the  quotations  I  am  shortly  to  make. 

We  go  to  John  Foster.  In  his  "  Life  and  Letters  "  he  re- 
marks :  "  As  to  this  last  (regeneration  in  baptism),  how  much 
dishonest  quibbling  has  there  been  by  Biddulph  and  others  of 
the  Evangelical  clergy,  to  form  some  other  meaning  to  expres- 
sions of  which  the  sense  is  as  clear  as  daylight."  f 

In  the  note  upon  this  opinion  of  his,  is  then  cited  from  an 
English  clergyman.  Rev.  W.  Gresley,  the  following  declaration 
to  the  same  effect : 

"I  would  appeal  to  any  man  of  common  understanding, 
from  the  most  unlettered  peasant  to  the  ablest  in  the  land ;  or 
to  any  jury  of  twelve  honest  men,  be  they  dissenters  or  be  they 
Romanists  ;  or  the  first  twelve  one  might  meet  in  the  streets  of 
London,  and  submit  to  their  judgment  whether  it  is  possible 
for  a  doctrine  to  be  couched  in  plainer  or  more  positive  words, 
whether  there  can  be  the  shadow  of  a  doubt  that  the  Church 
of  England  holds  the  doctrine  of  baptismal  regeneration; 
whether  the  denial  of  baptismal  regeneration  be  not  as  clearly 
contrary  to  the  doctrines  of  the  Church  of  England  as  the  main- 
tenance of  transubstantiation  or  the  Pope's  supremacy;  and 
whether  it  is  not  one  of  the  most  astounding  facts  in  religious 

*  Melvill's  "  Sermons,"  p.  361.     New  York,  1844. 

f  Foster's  "  Life  and  Letters,"  vol.  ii.  p.  116.     New  York  edition. 


42  REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM. 

controversy  that  ministers  of  the  Church  of  England  should, 
Sunday  after  Sunday,  use  this  service,  baptize  infants  brought 
to  them,  should  call  on  the  congregation  to  join  with  them  in 
thanking  God  that  it  hath  pleased  Him  to  regenerate  such 
child,  and  yet  hold  the  opinion,  either  that  the  child  has  not 
been  regenerated  at  all,  or  that  his  regeneration  is  hypotheti- 
cal !  If  the  maintenance  of  baptismal  regeneration  be  ortho- 
dox, the  denial  must  be  heretical,  or  at  least  '  the  setting  forth 
of  erroneous  and  strange  doctrines.'  The  question  is  come  to 
a  direct  issue,  the  Church  cannot  contain  both  doctrines,  the 
advocates  of  one  or  other  must  give  way  !  "  * 

"We  proceed  now  to  the  testimony  of  Albert  Barnes.  It  is 
extracted  from  his  pamphlet  on  "  The  Position  of  the  Evan- 
gelical party  in  the  Episcopal  Church."  This,  as  we  learn  in  a 
letter  from  himself,  was  first  published  in  the  JVew  Miglander, 
and  then  as  a  pamphlet  ran  through  four  or  five  editions,  and  is 
now  out  of  print.  We  have  to  return  our  thanks  to  the  author 
for  his  courtesy  in  supplying  iis  with  a  copy  at  some  trouble  to 
himself. t  We  cite  only  the  part  that  concerns  the  doctrine  of 
regeneration.  And  we  beg  our  readers  to  consider  the  candid 
but  somewhat  censorious  testimony  of  Mr.  Barnes  to  this  fact 
— that  the  Church  doctrine  is  indubitably  what  he  calls  "  the 
odious  doctrine  of  baptismal  regeneration." 

"  But  the  difiiculties  encountered  by  the  Evangelical  party 
lie  deeper  than  this.  We  mean,  that  they  are  compelled  per- 
petually to  use  a  liturgy  which  counteracts  all  their  teaching. 
The  liturgy  is  opposed  to  the  views  of  the  Low  Church  Episco- 
palian, and  to  the  whole  influence  of  his  teaching,  and  is  a  con- 
stant influence.  To  some  of  the  views  thus  constantly  brought 
before  the  people  in  the  Prayer  Book,  opposed  to  the  Evangeli- 
cal teaching,  we  will  now  advert. 

"There  is,  first,  the  doctrine  of  baptismal  regeneration, 
a  doctrine  which  we  regard  as  the  undoubted  teaching  of  the 
Prayer  Booh,  and  which  presents  a  constantly  counteracting 

*  Gresley,  quoted  by  Foster  in  tlie  before  cited  place, 
f  A.D.  1867.    Mr.  Barnes  is  since  dead. 


EEGENEBATION  IN  BAPTISM.  43 

influence  to  the  doctrine  of  the  necessity  of  a  change  of  heart 
by  the  agency  of  the  Holy  Spirit  accompanying  the  truth  (?). 
The  doctrine  of  the  Prayer  Book  is,  that  a  child  that  is  baptized 
in  the  proper  manner  is  '  regenerated '  by  the  Holy  Ghost. 

"  The  language  of  the  Liturgy  on  this  subject  is  as  explicit 
as  language  can  be,  and  we  ha/oe  never  seen  amy  explanations 
hy  the  advocates  of  Low  Church  views,  which  seemed  to  us 
to  have  the  least  degree  of  jplausihility.^^  * 

w  *3?  7v  7r  T?  , 

"  Here  is  a  regular  order  in  the  teachings,  prayers,  and 
thanksgivings,  all  implying  the  doctrine  of  haptismal  re- 
generation, and  all  implying  that  that  regeneration  is  accom- 
plished by  the  Holy  Ghost.  There  is  the  exhortation  to  the 
people  to  pray  for  this,  then  the  prayer  actually  offered  for  it, 
and  then  a  solemn  form  of  thanksgiving  that  it  has  been  done. 
And  that  this  is  the  true  teaching  of  the  liturgy  on  this  sub- 
ject, and  that  the  meaning  is  not,  as  some  Episcopalians  have 
endeavored  to  show,  that  the  word  '  regeneration '  here  means 
a  mere  'change  of  state,'  or  a  transition  from  the  world  into 
the  Church,  seems  to  us  to  he  perfectly  clear — for  (1)  Such  is 
not  the  meaning  of  the  Scripture  terms  'regeneration,'  and 
'being  born  again,'  employed  in  this  service.  In  the  Bible 
they  cannot  be  understood  to  have  this  meaning,  and  there  is 
no  evidence  that  the  framers  of  the  liturgy  meant  to  depart 
from  the  Scripture  usage.  (2)  The  regeneration  here  sj)oken 
of  is  not  a  mere  '  change  of  state  or  relation,'  It  is  a  change 
of  regeneration  hy  the  Holy  Ghost.  This  is  what  is  prayed 
for,  what  is  taught  as  having  been  accomplished,  and  that  for 
which  '  hearty  thanks '  are  given  when  the  form  of  baptism  is 
passed  through.  Now  regeneration  by  the  agency  of  the  Holy 
Ghost  in  the  Scriptures  means  a  definite  thing.  It  is  not  a 
transition  from  heathenism  to  nominal  Christianity  ;  it  is  not  a 
mere  profession  of  religion ;  it  is  a  work  on  the  heart  itself,  by 
which  that  is  changed,  and  by  which  the  soul  begins  to  live 
anew  unto   God.     (3)  This   cannot  be  the  meaning  in  the 

*P.35. 


44  REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM. 

liturgy.  Is  it  possible  to  believe  that  sensible  men  should 
gravely  intreat  a  whole  congregation  to  offer  fervent  prayers 
that  certain  persons  then  present  might  be  enabled  to  join  a 
Church  ?  Is  it  necessary  for  all  this  parade  and  ceremony,  and 
all  this  solemn  invocation  of  the  special  aid  of  God's  Holy 
Spirit,  that  they  might  be  enabled  to  change  their  relation  ? 
Is  this  a  work  so  difficult  to  be  performed  as  to  need  the  special 
interposition  of  Heaven  in  the  case ;  a  work  which  no  one 
could  hope  to  be  able  to  do  without  the  particular  influ- 
ences of  the  Spirit  of  God  ?  And  is  religion  in  the  Episcopal 
Church  such  a  solemn,  trifling  thing  as  this  representation 
would  imply  ?  We  do  not  believe  it ;  and  despite  all  the  efforts 
of  the  Low  Church  Episcopalians  to  explain  this,  we  believe 
that  the  High  Church  and  the  Puseyites  have  the  fair  inter- 
pretation of  this  part  of  the  liturgy,  that  it  is  intended  to 
teach  the  doctrine  of  baptismal  regeneration,  and  that  this 
will  be  the  impression  ever  made  on  the  great  mass  of  those 
who  use  the  Prayer  Book."  * 

TT  TV  vv  w  w 

"  The  first  thing  we  meet  with  {in  the  Catechism)  is  the 
odious  doctrine  of  baptismal  regeneration.  .  .  .  The  same  doc- 
trine we  have  affirmed  again,  if  possible  in  still  stronger  terms, 
in  the  same  Catechism,  which  is  to  be  '  learned.'  "  f 

After  an  exceedingly  able  analysis,  of  ten  pages  in  extent,  of 
the  services  of  the  Church,  proving  that  they  teach  the  doc- 
trine of  regeneration  in  baptism,  Mr.  Barnes  ends  with  this 
most  honest  and  candid  advice  to  the  Low  Churchman  in  the 
Church,  bound  by  his  vows  to  use  the  service  of  the  Church  in 
the  public  worship  of  Almighty  God : 

"  But  has  he  a  right  to  put  his  own  interpretation  on  what 
constitutes  a  proper  qualiflcation  ;  to  say  that  baptism  does  not 
mean  regeneration ;  that  the  child  that  was  baptized  was  tiot 
'  made  a  member  of  Christ,  the  child  of  God,  and  an  inheritor 
of  the  kingdom  of  Heaven  ' ;  that  it  has  not  '  pleased  God  to 
regenerate  him  with  his  Holy  Spirit '  when  he  was  baptized, 
*  Pp.  37-8.  tP.42. 


REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM.  45 

but  that  another  kind  of  regeneration  is  necessary,  and  to 
withhold  him  from  confirmation  until  he  has  himself  the  evi- 
dence that  he  is  born  again  ?  Has  he  a  right  to  set  his  own 
views  thus  against  the  teaching  of  the  Church,  and  to  insist 
that  his  views  shall  be  complied  with,  contrary  to  the  obvious 
meaning  of  the  canons,  and  to  the  almost  unhrohen  custom  of 
the  Church  f  We  think  not.  We  think  that  hy  hecoming  an 
Episcopal  TTiinister,  he  hinds  himself  to  act  in  accordance  with 
the  obvious  meaning  of  the  liturgy  in  this  respect,  and  that 
however  his  soul  may  revolt  at  it,  and  however  contrary  all 
this  may  he  to  his  co7ivictio7is  of  what  is  taught  in  the  New 
Testament,  as  long  as  he  chooses  to  remain  in  the  Church,  he 
has  no  discretion.  He  is  the  servant  of  the  Church.  He  has 
received  this  Prayer  Book  as  his  guide,  and  it  is  his  to  carry 
out  its  views.  If  he  is  dissatisfied  with  them,  the  way  is 
clear.  It  is  to  leave  the  comrfiunion  ',  it  is  not  to  introduce 
and  defend  practices  contrary  to  the  elementary  conceptions 
of  Episcopacy.^''  * 

Having  given  these  opinions,  we  approach  with  reluctance 
the  sermon  on  baptismal  regeneration,  published  in  1863,  by 
Mr.  Spurgeon,  the  eminent  Baptist  preacher  of  London.  Only 
because  it  testifies  to  the  fact  most  emphatically  that  regenera- 
tion in  baptism  is  the  doctrine  of  the  Church,  do  we  bring  him 
upon  the  stand  along  with  Melvill,  Foster,  Gresley,  and  Albert 
Barnes.  These  have  tenderness  for  the  weakness  of  their  fel- 
low-men; but  Spurgeon,  we  must  say,  is  rude  and  fierce  and 
bitter.  Hard  and  coarse-fibred  in  himself,  he  cares  nothing 
for  the  feelings  of  others.  We  have  personally  known  and 
valued  Low  Churchmen,  even  when  we  saw  and  regretted  their 
inconsistency.  And  we  think  that,  at  least,  as  much  tender- 
ness and  mercy  should  be  shown  to  the  intellectual  inconsist- 
ency and  weakness  of  such  men  as  Henry  Martyn,  Wilberforce, 
Yenn,  and  Cecil,  and  Bishop  Wilson  of  Calcutta,  and  the 
sainted  Archbishop  Leighton,  as  to  the  Roman  Catholics, 
Francis  Xavier,  Pasquier  Quesnel,  Blaise  Pascal,  and   Carlo 

*  P.  45. 


46  REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM. 

Borromeo.  When  we  admit  the  missionary  spirit  and  the 
Christian  hohness  of  these  last,  knowing,  at  the  same  time,  that 
they  held  the  whole  system  of  popery,  we  should,  at  least, 
abstain  from  personal  charges  of  "  gross  and  pestilential  im- 
morality "  against  the  first  and  their  disciples.  We  ought  to 
make  allowance  for  the  weakness  of  poor  human  nature  in  the 
case  of  the  best  and  ablest ;  for  the  influences  of  revered  and 
holy  (if  mistaken)  parents ;  of  teachers  and  associates  respected 
and  beloved,  and  known  in  every  circumstance  of  life ;  and, 
above  all,  for  fervent  feelings  of  devotion  and  predominant 
tradition.  We  might  do  all  this,  and  at  the  same  time  under- 
stand and  guard  against  their  errors.  But  Spurgeon  cannot 
do  this.  It  is  not  in  his  nature  to  do  it.  We  cite  him,  as  we 
have  said,  with  reluctance,  and  only  for  his  testimony. 

We  go  on,  now,  to  make  extracts  from  the  sermon  on 
baptismal  regeneration. 

In  the  Church  Journal,  of  July  27,  1864,  we  find  the  fol- 
lowing notice,  from  the  English  Clerical  Journal,  of  that 
notorious  sermon : 

"  The  man  has  appeared,  publicly,  in  his  true  character,  as 
a  hater  of  the  Church  of  England,  as  all  his  fraternity  are  at 
heart.  He  insulted  both  High  and  Low,  by  comparing  the 
font  of  one  of  our  cathedrals  to  a  spittoon  /  he  has  since  re- 
peated the  insult  to  the  Low  in  the  pulpit,  in  a  sermon  on 
baptismal  regeneration,  which  he  looks  upon  as  a  little  less  than 
'  a  doctrine  of  devils.'  He  first  commends  the  honesty  of  High 
Churchmen :  '  My  brethren,  those  are  honest  Churchmen  in 
this  matter,  who,  subscribing  to  the  Prayer  Booh,  helieve  in 
baptismal  regeneration,  and  preach  it  plainly.  God  for- 
bid that  we  should  censure  those  who  believe  that  baptism 
saves  the  soul,  because  they  adhere  to  a  Church  which  teaches 
the  same  doctrine.  So  far  they  are  honest  men  ;  and  in  Eng- 
land, wherever  else,  let  them  never  lack  a  full  toleration.  Let 
us  oppose  their  teaching  by  all  Scriptural  and  intelligent  means, 
but  let  us  respect  their  courage  in  plainly  giving  us  their  views. 
I  hate  their  doctrine,  but  I  love  their  honesty.'     But  then 


REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM.  47 

comes  his  withering  sarcasm  in  reference  to  the  Evangelical 
clergy :  '  But,'  I  hear  many  good  people  exclaim,  '  there  are 
many  good  clergymen  in  the  Church  who  do  not  believe  in 
baptismal  regeneration.'  To  this  my  answer  is  prompt: 
Why^  then,  do  they  helong  to  a  Church  which  teaches  that 
doctrine  in  the  plainest  terras  f  I  am  told  that  many  in  the 
Church  of  England  preach  against  her  own  teaching.  I  know 
they  do,  and  herein  I  rejoice  in  their  enlightenment ;  but  I 
question,  gravely  question,  their  morality.  To  take  oath  that 
I  sincerely  assent  and  consent  to  a  doctrine  which  I  do  not 
believe,  would,  to  my  conscience,  appear  little  short  of  perjury, 
if  not  absolute,  downright  perjury ;  but  those  who  do  so  must 
be  judged  by  their  own  Lord.'  " 

So  far  the  English  paper.  We  go  on  to  make  further  ex- 
tracts from  this  sermon,  which  now  is  lying  before  us : 

"  For  me  to  take  money  for  defending  what  I  do  not  be- 
lieve; for  me  to  take  the  money  of  a  Church,  and  then  to 
preach  against  what  are  most  evidently  its  doctrines ;  I  say, 
for  me  to  do  this  (I  shall  not  judge  the  peculiar  views  of  other 
men),  for  me,  or  any  other  simple,  honest  man  to  do  so,  were 
an  atrocity  so  great,  that  if  I  had  perpetrated  the  deed,  I 
should  consider  myself  out  of  the  pale  of  truthfulness,  honesty, 
and  common  morality.* 

"  For  clergymen  to  swear,  or  to  say  that  they  give  their 
solemn  assent  and  consent  to  what  they  do  not  believe,  is  one 
of  the  grossest  pieces  of  immorality  perpetrated  in  England, 
and  is  most  pestilential  in  its  influence,  since  it  directly  teaches 
men  to  lie  (!)  whenever  it  seems  necessary  to  do  so,  in  order  to 
get  a  living  or  increase  their  supposed  usefulness ;  it  is,  in  fact, 
an  open  testimony,  from  priestly  life,  that,  at  least,  in  ecclesi- 
astical matters,  falsehood  may  express  truth,  and  truth  itself  is 
a  mere  unimportant  nonentity.  I  know  of  nothing  more 
calculated  to  debauch  the  public  mind  than  a  want  of  straight- 
forwardness in  ministers ;  and  when  worldly  men  hear  ministers 
denouncing   the  very  things  which  their  own  Prayer   Book 

*  Sermon,  p.  4 


48  REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM. 

teaches,  they  imagine  that  words  have  no  meaning  among 
ecclesiastics,  and  that  vital  differences  in  religion  are  merely 
a  matter  of  tweedle-dee  and  tweedle-dum,  and  that  it  does  not 
matter  what  a  man  does  believe,  so  long  as  he  is  charitable  to 
other  people.  If  haptism  does  regenerate  people,  let  the  fact 
he  preached  with  a  trumpet  tongue,  om,d  let  no  Tnanhe  ashamed 
of  his  helief  in  it.* 

"  It  is  time  that  there  should  be  an  end  put  to  the  flirta- 
tions of  honest  men  with  those  who  believe  one  way  and 
swear  another.  (!)  If  baptism  works  regeneration,  let  them 
say  so ;  but  if  they  do  not  believe  it  in  their  hearts,  and  yet 
subscribe,  and  yet  more,  get  their  livings  by  subscribing  to 
words  asserting  it,  let  them  find  congenial  associates  among 
men  who  can  equivocate  and  shuffle,  for  honest  men  will 
neither  ask  nor  accept  their  friendship." 

The  coarse  brutality,  and  insolent  and  abusive  common 
sense  of  this  sermon,  roused  even  Baptist  Noel  (who  having 
been  an  Evangelical  clergyman  of  the  Church  of  England,  had, 
at  the  cost  of  all  his  preferments,  given  up  his  position  and 
become  a  Baptist)  to  come  forward  in  defence  of  his  old  asso- 
ciates, the  Evangelical  clergy  of  the  Church  of  England.  Yet 
with  all  its  rudeness,  and  the  utter  want  of  anything  like 
Christian  charity,  or  tenderness,  in  Spurgeon's  sermon,  he 
speaks  the  truth  ;  the  Calvinistic  doctrine  on  regeneration  is 
not  that  of  the  Book  of  Common  Prayer,  and  the  men  that 
hold  it,  and  are  clergy  of  the  Church  of  England,  are  sadly 
inconsistent.  They  lay  themselves  open  to  such  reproaches  as 
these  of  Spurgeon. 

This  sermon  was  preached  before  three  thousand  people  in 
London,  England,  and  has  been  widely  spread  by  the  Baptist 
press.     We  quote  from  its  pages. 

We  give  two  other  small  extracts  commenting  on  vari- 
ous parts  of  the  Prayer  Book.  On  the  Catechism,  he 
says :  "  Is  not  this  definite  and  plain  enough  ?  I  prize  the 
words  for  their  candor ;  they  could  not  speak  more  plainly. 

*  Sermon,  p.  5. 


REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM.  49 

Three  times  over  the  thing  is  put,  lest  there  should  be  any 
doubt  in  it.  The  word  '  regeneration  '  may,  by  some  sort  of 
juggling,  be  made  to  mean  something  else,  but  here  there  can 
he  no  misunderstanding.  The  child  is  not  only  made  a  mem- 
ber of  Christ — union  to  Jesus  is  no  mean  spiritual  gift — hut 
he  is  made  in  hajptism  the  '  child  of  God  '  also.  Nothing  can 
he  more  plain.  I  venture  to  say  that  while  honesty  remains 
on  earth  the  meaning  of  these  words  will  not  admit  of  dis- 
pute.    It  is  as  ce7'tain  as  noonday. ^^  * 

Again : 

"  I  am  not  aware  that  any  Protestant  Church  in  England 
teaches  the  doctrine  of  baptismal  regeneration,  except  one,  and 
that  happens  to  be  the  corporation  which,  with  none  too  great 
humility,  calls  itself  the  Church  of  England.  (!)  This  very 
powerful  sect  (!)  does  not  teach  the  doctrine  merely  through  a 
section  of  its  ministers,  who  might  be  charitably  considered  as 
evil  branches  of  the  vine,  but  it  openly,  holdly,  and  plainly 
declares  the  doctrine  in  her  own  appointed  standard,  the 
Booh  of  Common  Prayer,  and  that  in  words  so  express, 
that,  while  language  is  the  channel  of  conveying  intelligible 
sense,  no  process,  short  of  wresting  from  their  plain  meaning, 
can  ever  make  them  say  anything  else.^'' 

Our  citations  from  Spurgeon  are  at  an  end.  He  bears  the 
same  witness  as  the  other  four,  in  how  diiferent  a  spirit  all 
can  most  plainly  see.  To  him,  and  those  who  sympathize  with 
him,  as  well  as  to  the  men,  good  in  life  and  fervent  in  the 
Christian  faith,  although,  perhaps,  mistaken  and  inconsistent, 
whom  he  has  abused,  we  recommend  these  two  verses : 
"  Though  I  speak  with  the  tongues  of  men  and  of  angels,  and 
have  not  charity  (love),  I  am  become  as  sounding  brass,  or  a 
tinkling  cymbal.  And  though  I  have  the  gift  of  prophecy 
(preaching),  and  understand  all  mysteries,  and  all  knowledge ; 
and  though  I  have  all  faith,  so  that  I  could  remove  mountains, 
and  have  not  charity,  I  am  nothing.f 

*  Sermons,  p.  3.  t  !•  C!or.  xiii.  1,  2. 

4 


CHAPTEK  II. 

Or  course,  in  examining  our  standards,  we  consider  that 
their  great  value  lies  in  their  giving  us  the  doctrine  of  the 
Scriptures,  systematically  laid  out.  All  doctrinal  standards,  of 
course,  profess  to  do  only  this.  Our  Prayer  Book  system, 
however,  has  this  one  advantage  over  its  competitors.  At  the 
first,  no  one  will  deny  that  the  literal  sense,  that  which  lies 
upon  the  face  of  Holy  Writ,  appears,  evidently,  to  uphold  the 
doctrine  of  baptismal  regeneration.  The  text,  "Except  a  man 
[in  the  Greek  rrc,  any  person  whatsoever]  be  born  of  water 
and  of  the  Spirit,  he  cannot  enter  into  the  kingdom  of 
God,"  *  certainly  says  that  there  is  a  birth  of  water  and  the 
Spirit.  "  Pie  that  believeth  and  is  baptized  shall  be  saved,"  f 
seems,  upon  its  face,  to  say  that  baptism  has,  at  least,  as  much 
to  do  with  salvation  as  faith  has. 

"  The  like  figure  (the  antitype)  whereunto  even  baptism 
doth  also  now  save  us"  :{:  asserts  that  we  are  saved  by  baptism. 

Our  readers  will  see,  as  we  go  on,  that  our  system  expressly 
asserts  all  that  Scripture,  in  the  plain  literal  sense,  says  con- 
cerning baptism.  All  that  Scripture  says  it  is,  we  say  it  is,  our 
opponents  say  it  is  not.  To  them  we  are  not  "  regenerate  of 
water  and  of  the  Spirit,"  but  of  the  Spirit  only.  "We  are  not 
saved  by  faith  and  baptism,  but  by  faith  only.  "  Baptism  does 
not  save  us."  And  so  it  goes  through  their  whole  system. 
Let  the  humble-minded  Churchman  bear  this  in  memory, 
especially  when  he  is  told  that  the  system  of  his  standards  is 
unscriptural,  and  adhere  to  it,  at  least,  until  he  sees  very  plain 
reasons,  indeed,  for  a  most  violent  and  emphatic  "  ?io,"  where 
*  John,  iii.  5.  f  Mark,  xvi.  16.  1 1.  Peter,  iii.  21. 


REGENERATION  IN  BAPTIS3I.  61 

the  Scripture  gives  a  most  plain  affirmation,  taken  as  it  stands, 
literally,  in  its  evident  sense. 

We  shall  take  the  Nicene  Creed  as  the  first  of  our  standard 
documents.  In  the  liturgic  use  of  this  creed  the  minister  and 
the  people  together  repeat  aloud  the  words,  "  I  acknowledge 
one  baptism  for  the  remission  of  sins." 

How  much  this  confession  agrees  with  the  doctrine  that 
baptism  is  not  a  mere  form,  but  a  sacrament,  a  "means  of 
grace,"  a  spiritual  instrument  which  God  employs  to  confer 
upon  the  believer  heavenly  blessings,  by  the  immediate  opera- 
tion of  the  Holy  Spirit,  may  easily  be  seen  by  the  baptismal 
services.  Here  we  see  that  the  Creed  says,  "  I  acknowledge 
one  baptism  for  the  remission  of  sins."  Then,  again,  in  the 
services  the  minister  prays  for  those  who  are  to  be  baptized^ 
as  well  infants  as  adults,  that, 

"  They  coming  to  Thy  holy  baptism  may  receive  remission  of  sin  by 
spiritual  regeneration."  * 

He  implores  of  God 

"  To  sanctify  this  water  to  the  mystical  washing  away  of  sin." 

He  then  baptizes  the  person,  and,  after  this  is  done, 
in  case  it  is  an  infant,  he  gives  thanks  to  God,  and  prays  for 
him, 

"  That  he  being  dead  unto  sin  and  living  unto  righteousness,  and  being 
buried  with  Christ  in  His  death,  may  crucify  the  old  man,  and  utterly  abolish 
the  whole  body  of  sin ;  and  that,  as  he  is  made  partaker  of  the  death  of 
Thy  Son,  he  may  also  be  partaker  of  His  resurrection ;  so  that  finally,  with 
the  residue  of  Thy  holy  Church,  he  may  be  an  inheritor  of  Thine  everlast- 
ing kingdom  ;  through  Christ  our  Lord.     Amen." 

In  the  case  of  adults,  he  prays  that 

"  Being  now  born  again,  and  made  heirs  of  everlasting  salvation,  through 
our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  they  may  continue  Thy  servants,  and  attain  Thy 
promises ;  through  the  same  Lord  Jesus  Christ  Thy  Son,  who  liveth  and 
reigneth  with  Thee  in  the  unity  of  the  same  Holy  Spirit,  everlastingly. 
Amen." 

*  OflBces  for  infant  and  adult  baptism. 


52  REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM. 

Whatever  opinion  any  one  may  have  of  the  doctrine,  it  is 
very  manifest  that  the  "  Nicene  Faith "  says  that  baptism  is 
"for  the  remission  of  sins,"  and  that  the  Services  of  the 
Church  say  precisely  the  same  thing.  They  both  hang  together. 
As  documents  they  give  the  same  evidence,  that  in  baptism 
"  remission  of  sins  "  is  given.  If  we  cast  out  the  evil  spirit  of 
negation  and  prejudice,  and  of  hostile  systems  preoccupying 
the  mind,  we  shall  not  find  it  very  hard  to  discover  that  the 
Holy  Scripture  makes  the  same  assertion  :  "  Arise,"  Ananias 
says  to  the  repentant  and  believing  Saul,  "and  be  baptized, 
and  wash  away  thy  sins,  calling  on  the  name  of  the  Lord !  "  * 

In  days  of  old,  when  the  scientific  men  of  that  age  had  made 
their  minds  up  that  the  earth  was  the  centre  of  the  solar  sys- 
tem, it  was  very  hard  to  give  an  unprejudiced  hearing  to  the 
pleading  of  Copernicus  or  Galileo  in  favor  of  the  sun  being 
its  centre.  We  believe  that  the  centre  of  God's  system  upon 
earth  is  God's  work  done  through  His  Son,  by  His  Spirit,  in 
this  world ;  and  we  are  not  likely  to  be  impartially,  calmly, 
or  candidly  heard  by  those  who  are  certain  that  that  centre 
lies  in  man's  consciousness  of  the  religious  workings  of  his 
own  heart.  We  see  the  doctrine  of  the  Nicene  Creed  in  Holy 
Writ ;  their  system  forbids  them  seeing  it  there.  We  place 
the  centre  of  God's  system  in  the  Son ;  they,  in  man's  feelings 
and  his  heart.  This  is  plain  assertion.  Is  it  not  a  matter  of 
fact  also  ? 

We  go  on  now  to  the  Baptismal  Services,  and,  to  avoid 
unnecessary  comment,  we  shall  take  the  liberty  of  drawing  the 
attention  of  our  readers  to  the  emphatic  parts  by  printing  them 
in  italics.  Our  readers,  of  course,  know  what  doctrine  it  is 
which  w^e  consider  that  they  hold.  To  follow  our  exposition 
of  these  services  with  the  Prayer  Book  in  their  hands,  to  see 
that  we  fairly  declare  and  expound  their  meaning  and  purport, 
we  think  no  very  difficult  task  for  candid  inquirers  who  are 
seeking  the  truth. 

The  first  thing  that  strikes  us  in  the  Baptismal  Offices  is  the 
*  Acts,  xxii.  16. 


REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM.  53 

public  and  solemn  nature  of  the  service.  It  is  to  be  in  the 
church,*  upon  a  Sunday,  or  other  festival  day,  before  the  eyes 
of  the  whole  congregation.  This  last  object  is  secured  by  its 
being  rubrically  placed  in  the  middle  of  the  morning  service, 
immediately  after  the  second  lesson.  In  fact,  throughout  the 
baptismal  service,  the  whole  congregation  is  supposed  to  be 
present,  to  assent  to  its  declarations  of  doctrine,  to  pray  for  the 
regeneration  of  the  person  presented,  before  the  baptism,  and 
to  give  thanks  for  the  same  after  it  has  been  completed.  The 
authorized  minister  of  Christ  is  in  the  chancel ;  the  person  to 
be  baptized,  and  chosen  sponsors  on  his  part  to  assume  most 
solemn  obligations,  are  assembled  in  one  group  and  placed  close 
by  the  most  sacred  part  of  the  church,  publicly  before  the  whole 
congregation.  All  the  solemnities  of  time  and  place  and  per- 
son which  the  Church  can  gather  together  are  herein  accumu- 
lated. 

Surely  this  invests  the  transaction  with  deep  importance. 
It  shows  that  it  is  far  more  than  a  mere  form.  It  is  the  con- 
clusion of  a  solemn  covenant  between  God  and  man,  in  His 
church,  by  His  ministers,  before  His  people, — a  sacrament  by 
the  "Word  and  the  Spirit,  actually  conferring,  here  upon  earth, 
the  grace  of  regeneration.  This  is  what  all  these  solemn  rites, 
these  careful  surroundings  of  time  and  place,  most  plainly  in- 
dicate. Except  we  believe  this,  all  the  publicity,  the  solem- 
nity, the  particularity  as  to  witnesses  and  sponsors,  as  to  place 
and  position  and  time,  are  utterly  without  use  or  meaning. 
We  bring  these  considerations  forward  now,  because  we  have 
seen  in  some  persons  a  willingness  to  strip  the  sacrament 
of  these  its  investitures  of  awe  and  reverence  and  respect. 
We  have  recognized  that  intention,  and  the  motive  for  it,  in 
the  history  of  the  Church  of  England,  and  of  onr  own.  If  a 
man  thinks  baptism  to  be  in  effect  nothing,  all  these  solemn 
surroundings  are  meaningless  and  useless.  He  will  break  them 
away  if  he  can,  in  spite  of  custom  or  usage,  laws  or  rubrics. 

It  will  be  remembered  that  there  are  three  offices  for  bap- 
*  Always,  except  in  case  of  sickness. 


54  REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM. 

tism,  in  the  Prayer  Book, — "Public  Baptism  of  infants,"  "Pri- 
vate Baptism  of  children  in  houses,"  and  "  Baptism  of  such  as 
are  of  riper  years." 

Upon  the  infant  or  adult  being  brought  to  the  font,  "which 
is  then  to  be  filled  with  pure  water,"  the  minister  asks: 

"  Hatli  this  cliild  (or  person)  been  already  baptized,  or  no  ?  " 

And,  upon  the  answer  being  given  in  the  negative,  he 
makes  a  short  address  to  the  cijngregation,  asserting  the  fact  of 
original  sin,  and  the  necessity  arising  from  it  of  '^heing  regen- 
erate, and  horn  anew  of  water  and  of  tlie  Holy  Ghosts  He 
requests  of  them  to  pray  the  Father 

"To  grant  to  this  child  (or  person)  that  which  hy  nature  he  cannot 
have  ;  that  he  may  he  baptized  mih  water  and  the  Holy  Ohost,  and  received 
into  Christ's  Holy  Church,  and  made  a  living  member  of  the  same." 

Surely  this  address  is  perfectly  consonant  with  the  doctrine 
that  the  child  is  brought  to  the  Church,  then  and  there*  to  be 
regenerated  and  born  anew  of  water  and  the  Holy  Ghost  in 
baptism.  It  is  perfectly  consistent  with  this  doctrine,  hardly 
with  any  other.  Nay,  does  it  not  distinctly  tell  all  who  are 
present,  that  for  this  purpose  the  child  is  brought  to  the  font  ? 

*  We  see  a  very  distinct  assertion  of  this  in  the  Homily  of  the  Church 
of  England  "  On  the  Repairing  and  Keeping  Clean  of  Churches :"  "  And 
shall  we  be  so  mindful  of  our  common  houses,  and  so  forgetful  toward  the 
house  of  God,  wherein  He  ministers  the  sacraments  and  mysteries  of  our 
redemption?  The  fountain  of  our  regeneration  is  there  presented  unto  us, 
the  partaking  of  the  body  and  blood  of  Christ  is  there  oflfered  us." — "  Homi- 
lies."    Oxford :  Clarendon  Press,  1802,  p.  229. 

The  same  thought  is  presented  to  us  most  beautifully  by  Archbishop 
Cranmer,  in  his  "Answer  to  Gardiner."  "  The  sacraments,"  he  says,  "  are 
Christ's  sacraments,  not  the  priest's.  Therefore,  when  the  priest,  in  our 
eight,  in  the  Church,  putteth  to  his  hand,  and  washeth  the  child  in  baptism, 
we  must  believe  that  God  putteth  to  His  hand,  and  washeth  the  infant 
inwardly  with  the  Spirit,  and  Christ  cometh  down  upon  the  child  and  ap- 
parelleth  him  with  His  own  Self.  And,  as  at  the  Lord's  table  the  priest 
distributeth  bread  and  wine,  so,  inwardly,  by  faith,  we  ought  to  see  Christ 
feeding  both  body  and  soul  to  eternal  life." — See  whole  passage  quoted  in 
H.  Browne  on  the  Articles,  p.  329. 


REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM.  55 

This  doctrine  is  perfectly  consistent  with  the  address,  and  with 
all  the  concomitant  circumstances.  They  are  in  harmony  with 
this  doctrine,  and  no  other. 

Then,  two  prayers  follow,  either  of  which  may  be  used  at 
the  discretion  of  the  minister.  It  may  be  easily  seen  that  both 
hold  the  same  doctrine. 

In  the  first,  which  we  shall  not  cite  entire,  it  is  said : 

"  By  the  baptism  of  Thy  well-beloved  Son  Jesus  Christ  in  the  river  Jor- 
dan, (Thou)  didst  sanctify  icater  to  the  mystical  washing  away  of  sin." 

Mystical,  in  liturgical  language,  being  equivalent  with  sac- 
ramental. It  is  prayed,  also,  for  the  person,  whether  infant  or 
adult,  that  he  may  he  washed  and  sanctified  with  the  Holy 
Ghost ; 

"  That  he  being  delivered  from  Thy  wrath,  may  he  received  into  the  ark 
of  Christ's  Church." 

All  these  benefits  are  prayed  for  as  not  heing  possessed  at 
the  time  when  the  prayer  is  uttered.  And,  after  the  baptism, 
thanks  are  then  immediately  returned  for  them,  as  at  that  time 
having  heen  given  hy  God  to  the  person  who  has  been  baptized. 
What  other  conclusion  can  be  drawn,  than  that  the  Church 
considers  them  to  have  been  given,  then  and  there,  in  answer 
to  the  prayer  of  faith,  by  the  Holy  Spirit,  at  the  instant  of  the 
baptism  ?  You  may  not,  as  is  said  in  the  foregoing  chapter  by 
Henry  Melvill,  agree  with  the  doctrine,  but  you  must  confess 
that  the  words,  in  their  position  and  with  their  attendant  cir- 
cumstances, signify  this  and  nothing  else. 

And,  really,  if  there  be  in  truth  and  fact  such  a  change  as 
that  of  regeneration  or  new  birth,  we  cannot  see  why  it  should 
not  take  place  at  such  a  soleinn  conjuncture  of  concurrent  acts 
of  faith,  hope,  and  love  as  the  moment  of  baptism  is — when 
the  authority  and  faith  of  the  minister,  the  repentance  and 
faith  of  the  candidate,  the  faith  and  promises  of  the  sponsors, 
the  prayers  and  faith  of  the  people,  all  concur  and  come  to- 
gether in  time  and  place,  at  a  solemn  sacrament,  a  means  of 
grace  instituted  and  ordained  by  Christ  himself.     If  the  Holy 


56  REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM. 

Spirit  actually  and  really  operates  and  eifects  this  great  change 
supernaturally,  upon  man  while  living  upon  the  earth,  at  any 
one  moment  of  time,  surely  all  these  circumstances  most  ap- 
propriately gather  around  and  mark  the  time  of  baptism  as 
the  moment  of  that  new  birth. 

It  may  need  an  humble  Christian  heart,  free  from  self- 
opinion  and  fervent  in  faith,  to  see  it  and  believe.  It  may  be 
easy  to  doubt  that  it  is  so.  But  that  the  words  of  the  bap- 
tismal service  assert  that  the  change  of  the  new  birth  or  re- 
generation takes  place  at  the  moment  of  baptism,  then  and 
there,  no  one,  who  candidly  examines  them,  we  think,  can 
deny. 

The  next  prayer  for  the  infant  or  adult,  proceeds  thus: 

"  Almiglity  and  immortal  God,  the  aid  of  all  who  need,  the  helper  of  all 
who  flee  to  Thee  for  succour,  the  life  of  those  who  believe,  and  the  resur- 
rection of  the  dead  ;  We  call  upon  Thee  for  this  infant  (or  person),  that  he, 
coming  to  Thy  holy  baptism,  may  receive  remission  of  his  sins  by  spiritual  re- 
generation. Receive  him,  0  Lord,  as  Thou  has  promised  by  Thy  well-beloved 
Son,  saying.  Ask,  and  ye  shall  receive  ;  seek,  and  ye  shall  find  ;  knock,  and 
it  shall  be  opened  unto  you.  So  give  now  unto  us  who  ask;  let  us  who 
seek,  find;  open  the  gate  unto  ms  who  knock;  that  this  infant  (or  person) 
may  enjoy  the  everlasting  benediction  of  Thy  heavenly  washing,  and  may 
come  to  the  eternal  kingdom  which  Thou  hast  promised  by  Christ  our  Lord. 
Amen."  , 

The  service  then  proceeds  with  a  Gospel  appropriate  to  the 
sacrament  of  baptism,  and  a  short  exhortation  following  it. 
The  Gospel  in  the  case  of  infants  is  a  diflferent  one  from  that 
in  the  office  for  adult  baptism.  In  the  first  it  is  the  narrative 
of  our  Lord's  blessing  little  children,  from  St.  Mark ;  in  the 
second,  it  is  the  history  of  Nicodemus's  coming  to  Jesus  by 
night,  from  St.  John. 

The  exhortations  also  are  different,  but  they  both  end 
with  the  same  prayer.  This  prayer,  it  is  most  convenient  at 
this  place  to  say,  contains  these  words : 

"  Give  Thy  Holy  Spirit  to  this  infant  (or  person),  that  he  may  be  born 
again,  and  be  made  an  heir  of  everlasting  salvation." 

The  same  constant  asseveration  of  new  birth,  or  regenera- 


REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM.  51 

tion  in  baptism,  is  seen  here,  as  forms  the  central  thought  of 
all  the  baptismal  services. 

The  Gospel  in  the  service  for  adults,  from  the  third  chapter 
of  St.  John,  and  containing  the  proof  text,  "Except  a  man  be 
born  of  water  and  of  the  Spirit,  he  cannot  enter  into  the  king- 
dom of  God,"  we  need  not  cite  in  full  in  this  place.  But  the 
exhortation  in  it  is  most  remarkable.  All  the  passages  which 
the  pure,  primitive  Church,  and  such  writers  of  the  Church  of 
England  as  Hooker,  Barrow,  and  Beveridge,  so  unanimously 
refer  to  baptism,  are  there  accumulated.  And  after  the  cita- 
tion of  each  text  comes  the  assertion  that  it  belongs  to  haptism, 
and  that  it  is  now  to  be  fulfilled  in  these  persons.  It  is  hard 
to  say  how  an  honest  and  intelligent  man  can  use  this  exhorta- 
tion, in  the  course  of  his  duty  as  a  clergyman,  and  not  believe, 
in  some  intelligible  sense,  in  the  doctrine  of  regeneration  in 
baptism.     We  spread  the  whole  of  it  before  our  readers'  eyes : 

"Beloved,  ye  hear  in  this  Gospel  the  express  words  of  our  Saviour 
Christ,  that  except  a  man  he  horn  of  water  and  of  the  Spirit,  he  cannot  enter 
into  the  kingdom  of  God.  Whereby  ye  may  perceive  the  great  necessity  of 
this  sacrament,  where  it  may  be  had.  Likewise,  immediately  before  His 
ascension  into  heaven  (as  we  read  in  the  last  chapter  of  St.  Mark's  Gospel), 
He  gave  command  unto  His  disciples,  saying :  Go  ye  into  all  the  world, 
and  preach  the  Gospel  to  every  creature.  He  that  believeth  and  is  baptized 
shall  be  saved  ;  but  he  that  believeth  not  shall  be  damned.  WJdch  also  show- 
etli  unto  us  the  great  benefit  we  reap  thereby.  For  which  cause  St.  Peter  the 
Apostle,  when  upon  his  first  preaching  of  the  Gospel  many  were  pricked  at 
the  heart,  and  said  to  him  and  the  rest  of  the  Apostles,  Men  and  brethren, 
what  shall  we  do?  replied  and  said  unto  them,  Repent,  and  be  baptized 
every  one  of  you  for  the  remission  of  sins,  and  ye  shall  receive  the  gift  of  the 
Holy  Ghost.  For  the  promise  is  to  you  and  your  children,  and  to  all  that 
are  afar  off,  even  as  many  as  the  Lord  our  God  shall  call.  And  with  many 
other  words  exhorted  he  them,  saying.  Save  yourselves  from  this  un- 
toward generation.  For  (as  the  same  Apostle  testifieth  in  another  place) 
even  baptism  doth  also  now  save  us  (not  the  putting  away  of  the  filth  of  the 
flesh,  but  the  answer  of  a  good  conscience  toward  God),  by  the  resurrec- 
tion of  Jesus  Christ.  Doubt  ye  not  therefore,  but  earnestly  believe,  that  He 
will  favorably  receive  these  present  persons,  truly  repenting,  and  coming  unto 
Him  by  faith ;  that  He  will  grant  them  remission  of  their  sins,  and  bestow 
upon  them  the  Holy  Ghost ;  that  He  will  give  them  the  blessing  of  eternal 
life,  and  make  them  partakers  of  His  everlasting  kingdom. 


58  REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM. 

"  Wlierefore  we  being  thus  persuaded  of  the  good  will  of  our  Heavenly 
Father  toward  these  persons,  declared  by  His  Son  Jesus  Christ;  let  us 
faithfully  and  devoutly  give  thanks  to  Him,  and  say, 

"  Almighty  and  everlasting  God,  heavenly  Father,  we  give  Thee  humble 
thanks,  for  that  Thou  hast  vouchsafed  to  call  us  to  the  knowledge  of  Thy 
grace,  and  faith  in  Thee  :  Increase  this  knowledge,  and  confirm  this  faith  in 
us  evermore.  Give  Thy  Holy  Spirit  to  these  persons,  that  they  may  be  born 
again,  and  be  made  heirs  of  everlasting  salvation ;  through  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ,  who  liveth  and  reigneth  with  Thee  and  the  Holy  Spirit,  now  and 
forever.     Amen." 

Is  it  not  the  duty  of  the  clergyman  who  uses  such  a  form 
as  this,  rather  to  seek  out  for  himself,  by  thorough  and  patient 
examination,  the  system  of  the  Church  upon  the  matter  of  re- 
generation, so  that  he  may  understand  its  spiritual  significance, 
than  to  follow  at  random  the  lead  of  dissenters,  Calvinist  or 
Methodist,  who,  however  personally  pious  they  may  be,  have 
cast  off  the  whole  system  of  the  Church  we  love,  and  inveigh 
against  all  her  doctrines  and  usages?  They  are  at  liberty,  ut- 
terly disengaged  from  us.  They  stand  outside,  upon  the  sj's- 
tem  they  have  chosen.  We,  of  our  own  free  choice,  are  bound 
to  use  the  services  of  the  Church.  In  the  system  taught  by 
these  services,  the  "washing  of  water"  has  its  place.  "Repent- 
ance and  faith  "  also  have  their  place.  The  "  operation  of  the 
Holy  Spirit  upon  the  soul  of  man"  has  its  place.  "The  re- 
mission of  sins  "  its  place  also.  Is  it  not  a  great  deal  better  to 
acknowledge  these  several  coordinated  elements  of  our  salva- 
tion, these  distinctly-asserted  constituent  parts  of  the  system 
and  scheme  of  salvation  by  grace,  to  balance  and  consider  their 
relations,  efiects,  and  position,  than  to  talk  of  the  Church  doc- 
trine with  the  contemptuous  tone  which  we  have  heard  dis- 
senters employ  ? 

Of  the  way  in  which  the  doctrine  of  the  Chm-ch  has  been 
held  by  the  thoroughly  educated  and  consistent  clergy  of  the 
Church  at  all  times  we  have  given  some  instances,  and  shaU 
give  many  more.  But  it  may  at  this  point  of  our  inquiry  be 
interesting  to  consider  the  effect  of  these  services  upon  some 
of  that  class  called  Evangelical  in  the  English  Church,  men, 
that  is,  who  have  sympathized  more  or  less  with  pious  dissen- 


REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM.  59 

ters  and  have  adopted  more  or  less  of  their  senthnents  and 
modes  of  thought. 

"  The  majority  of  the  clergy  have  ever  held  baptismal  re- 
generation, but  among  those  connected  with  the  party  which 
formally  opposed  it,  large  concessions  were  made.  The  late 
Mr.  Simeon  acknowledged  that  any  use  of  the  word  regenera- 
tion which  separated  it  from  the  benefits  of  baptism  was  alto- 
gether modern.  Mr.  Simeon,  some  twelve  or  fourteen  years 
ago,  published  a  candid  narrative  of  the  progress  of  his  mind 
to  this  point,  and  showed  how  he  was  led  to  see  his  error  in 
opposing  the  orthodox  doctrine."  * 

We  turn,  therefore,  to  the  works  of  Simeon  (vol.  ii.  p.  289), 
and  we  find  the  following,  which,  we  must  say,  we  take  to  be 
a  very  admirable  commentary  upon  the  services. 

"  In  the  baptismal  service  we  thanh  God  for  having  regen- 
erated the  haptized  infant  hy  His  Holy  Spirit.  Now  from 
hence  it  appears  that  in  the  opinion  of  our  Reformers,  regen- 
eration and  remission  of  sins  did  accompany  haptism.  But  in 
what  sense  did  they  hold  this  sentiment  ?  Did  they  maintain 
that  there  was  no  need  for  the  seed  then  sown  in  the  heart  of 
the  haptized  person  to  groio  and  hring  forth  fruit,  or  that  he 
could  he  sa/ved  in  any  other  way  than  hy  a  progressive  renova- 
tion of  his  soul  after  the  divine  image  ?  Had  they  asserted 
any  such  doctrine  as  this,  it  would  have  been  impossible  for  any 
enlightened  person  to  concur  with  them.  But  nothing  can  be 
conceived  more  repugnant  to  their  thoughts  than  such  an  idea 
as  this  ;  so  far  from  harboring  such  a  thought,  they  have,  and 
that,  too,  in  this  very  prayer,  taught  us  to  look  to  God  for  that 
total  change,  both  of  heart  and  life,  which  long  since  their  days 
has  hegun  to  he  expressed  hy  the  term  regeneration,  f    .    .    .    . 

*  Catena  on  Baptism.    London,  1850. 

f  "  In  saying  that  there  is  no  objection  to  the  use  of  the  term  regeneration 
in  connection  with  haptism  when  rightly  interpreted,  we  would  not  be  under- 
stood as  advocating  the  use  of  it  in  conversation,  or  sermons,  or  tracts, 
except  where  it  can  be  easily  explained,  and  is  explained  at  the  time  so  as 
not  to  be  misunderstood." — Bishop  Meade  of  Virginia,  "  Companion  to  the 
Font  and  Pulpit,"  p.  104. 


60  REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM. 

Here  the  only  question  is,  not  whether  a  baptized  person  can 
be  saved  by  that  ordinance  without  sanctitication,  but  whether 
God  does  always  accompany  the  sign  with  the  thing  signified  ? 
There  is  certainly  room  for  difference  of  opinion  ;  hut  it  cannot 
possibly  he  decided  in  the  negative,  because  we  cannot  know  or 
even  judge  respecting  it  in  any  case  whatsoever,  except  by  the 
fruits  that  follow ;  and  therefore,  in  all  fairness  it  may  be  con- 
sidered only  as  a  doubtful  point ;  and  if  we  appeal,  as  we  ought, 
to  the  Holy  Scriptures,  they  certainly  do  in  a  very  remarhahle 
way  accord  with  the  expressions  of  our  liturgy.  St.  Paul  says : 
'  By  one  Spirit  we  are  all  haptized  into  one  body,  whether  we 
be  Jews  or  Gentiles,  whether  we  be  bond  or  free ;  and  have 
been  all  made  to  drink  into  one  Spirit^  And  this,  he  says  of 
all  the  visible  members  of  Christ's  Church.''^  Again,  speaking 
of  the  whole  nation  of  Israel,  infants  as  well  as  adults,  he  says : 
'  They  were  all  haptizedxxnio  Moses  in  the  cloud  and  in  the  sea ; 
and  did  all  eat  the  same  spiritual  meat ;  and  did  all  drink  the 
same  spiritual  drink :  for  they  drank  of  that  Spiritual  Rock 
that  followed  them :  and  that  Roclc  was  Christ.''  f  Yet,  behold, 
in  the  very  next  verse  he  tells  us  that  '  with  many  of  them  God 
was  not  well  pleased :  for  they  were  overthrown  in  the  wilder- 
ness.' In  another  place  he  speaks  more  strongly  still:  'As  many 
of  you,'  he  says,  'us  are  baptised  into  Christ  have  put  on  Christ.^ 
Here  we  see  that  what  is  meant  by  the  expression  '  baptized 
into  Christ,'  is  precisely  the  same  expression  as  that  before 
mentioned  of  the  Israelites  being  '  baptized  unto  Moses.'  The 
preposition  ect;  is  used  in  both  places ;  it  includes  all  who  have 
been  initiated  into  His  religion  by  the  rite  of  baptism  ;  and  of 
them  universally  does  the  Apostle  say,  they  have  put  on  Christ. 
Now  I  ask,  have  not  the  persons  who  scruple  the  use  of  that 
prayer  in  the  baptismal  service  equal  reason  to  scruple  the  use 
of  these  different  expressions  ? 

"Again,  St.  Peter  says,  'Pepent,  and  be  baptized  everyone 
of  you  for  the  remission  of  sins.' :{:  And  in  another  place, 
'  Baptism  doth  also  now  save  us.'  §    And,  speaking  elsewhere  of 

*  I.  Cor.  xii.  13,  27.     f  I-  Cor.  x.  3-4.     t  Acts,  ii.  38.    §  I.  Pet.  iii.  31. 


REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM.  61 

baptized  persons  who  were  unfruitful  in  the  knowledge  of  our 
Lord  Jesus  Christ,  he  says,  '  He  hath  forgotten  that  he  was 
purged  from  his  old  sins.'  *  Does  not  this  very  strongly  coun- 
tenance the  idea  which  our  reformers  entertained,  that  the 
remission  of  our  sins  and  the  regeneration  of  our  souls  is 
attendant  ujpon  the  hajptismal  rite  f  " 

We  had  intended  to  quote  no  more  from  Mr,  Simeon,  but 
we  extract  the  next  paragraph,  principally  to  show  how  such 
pious  and  good  men  as  he  feel  the  inconsistency  of  the  rigid 
logical  system  of  Calvin  with  that  of  the  Church,  and  finally 
as  an  introduction  to  the  next  quotation  from  Archbishop 
Sumner. 

"  Let  me  say  the  truth  before  God,"  Mr.  Simeon  proceeds 
to  say ;  "  though  I  am  no  Arminian,  /  do  thinh  the  refine- 
ments of  Calvin  have  done  great  harm  in  the  Church  /  they 
have  driven  multitudes  from  the  plain  and  jpopular  way  of 
speaking  used  iy  the  inspired  writers,  and  have  made  them 
unreasonably  and  unscripturally  squeamish  in  their  modes  of 
expression.  And  I  conceive  that  the  less  addicted  any  person 
is  to  systematic  accuracy  (!)  the  more  he  will  accord  with  the 
inspired  writers,  the  more  he  will  approve  the  views  of  our 
reformers."  (!) 

By  this  last  extraordinary  sentence  we  can  easily  see  that 
Simeon  was  rather  tired  of  the  rigorous  and  accurate  logic  of 
Calvinism,  and  seems  never  to  have  suspected  an  accurate  sys- 
tem in  the  New  Testament,  but  to  be  willing  to  settle  down  in 
the  strange  opinion  that  the  doctrine  of  the  Sacred  Yolume  is 
loose  and  popular,  inaccurate  and  unsystematic ! 

We  give,  now,  the  opinion  of  Archbishop  Sumner  of  Can- 
terbury. The  Archbishop  of  Canterbury  is  the  primate  of  the 
English  Church.  The  doctrine  of  "  special  grace,"  which  he 
speaks  against,  seems  to  be  the  Calvinistic  doctrine  that  irresisti- 
ble and  indefectible  grace  is  given  to  the  person  specially  and 
individually  at  the  moment  of  his  effectual  calling,  which  is, 
upon  that  theory,  the  moment  of  his  regeneration.    He  remarks, 

*II.  Pet.  i.  9. 


62  REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM. 

most  truly,  that  "  it  is,  indeed,  a  sufficient  confutation  of  tlie 
doctrine  of  special  grace  that  it  absolutely  nullifies  the  sacra- 
Tnent  of  hajptism.  It  reduces  it  to  an  emjpty  rite,  an  external 
mark  of  admission  into  the  visible  Church,  attended  with  no 
real  grace,  and  therefore  conferring  no  real  benefit.* 

"  Another  practical  evil  of  the  doctrine  of  special  grace  is 
the  necessity  which  it  implies  of  some  test  of  God's  favor, 
and  of  the  reconcilement  of  Christians  to  Him,  beyond  and 
subsequent  to  the  covenant  of  baptism.  St.  Paul,  it  has  been 
seen,  insists  upon  the  necessity  of  regeneration ;  he  declares 
that  '  the  natural  man  is  at  enmity  with  God,  and  cannot  receive 
the  things  of  God ; '  he  calls  the  heathen  nations  '  children 
of  wrath^  and  '  sinners  of  the  Gentiles '  ;  he  speaks  of  the  old 
man  as  being  corrujpt  according  to  the  deceitful  lusts  ;  and,  in 
short,  he  expresses,  under  a  variety  of  terms,  the  assertion  of  our 
Saviour,  that  '  except  a  man  be  bom  of  water  and  of  the  Spirit, 
he  cannot  enter  into  the  kingdom  of  God.' 

"  With  equal  clearness  he  intimates  that  the  Christians  he 
addresses  were  thus  regenerate  /  as  having  '  put  ofi"  the  old  man 
with  his  deeds  /  '  and  having  '  become  the  temple  of  the  Holy 
Ghost  and  the  members  of  Christ '/  as  having  the  '  Spiritual 
circumcision^  '  being  buried  with  Christ  in  baptism '  /  as 
having  '  received  the  Spirit  of  adoption '  ;  and  as  being 
'  washed.,  sanctified.,  and  jtistified  in  the  name  of  the  Lord  Jesus, 
and  by  the  Spirit  of  our  God.'  To  the  Galatians,  '  bewitched ' 
as  he  says  they  were,  '  that  they  should  not  obey  the  truth,'  he 
still  writes,  '  Ye  are  all  the  children  of  God  by  the  faith  in 
Christ  Jesus,  for  as  many  of  you  as  have  been  baptized  into 
Christ  have  put  on  Christ.''  These  addresses  and  exhortations 
are  founded  upon  the  principle  that  the  disciples,  by  their 
dedication  to  God  in  baptism,  had  been  brought  into  a  state  of 
reconcilement  with  Him,  had  been  admitted  to  privileges  which 
the  Apostle  calls  upon  them  to  improve.  On  the  authority  of 
this  example,  and  of  the  undeniable  practice  of  the  first  ages 
of  Christianity,  our  Church  considers  baptism  as  conveying 
*  Sumner  on  Apostolical  Preaching,  p.  99.     New  York  edition. 


REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM.  63 

regeneration,  instructing  ns  to  pray  before  baptism  that  the 
infant  may  be  born  again  and  made  an  heir  of  everlasting  sal- 
vation, and  to  return  thanks  after  baptism  that  it  Kath  jpleased 
God  to  regenerate  this  infant  with  His  Holy  Spirit,  and  re- 
ceive him  for  His  own  child  by  adoption."  * 

Here,  in  addition  to  the  evidence  of  these  sincerely  pious, 
if  somewhat  inconsistent  men,  we  shall  introduce  another  wit- 
ness, whose  name  is  sufficiently  known  in  this  country,  though 
we  imagine  he  is  hardly  suspected  by  anybody  of  believing  in 
regeneration  in  baptism — we  mean  John  Wesley.  Among  his 
works,  published  for  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  in  New 
York,  1851,  there  is  a  treatise  on  baptism,  written  and  pub- 
lished when  he  was  fifty-three  years  of  age,  in  the  midst 
of  his  career,  and  in  the  fullest  vigor  of  his  powers.  In  it  he 
comes  out  so  strongly  in  favor  of  baptismal  regeneration,  that 
it  puzzles  his  American  editor,  and  he  remarks  that  it  must  be 
remembered  that  "  he  was  originally  a  High  Churchman,  and 
uses  some  expressions  in  regard  to  the  doctrine  of  baptismal 
regeneration,  which  we  at  this  day  should  not  prefer !  " 

The  second  section  of  the  treatise  is — "What  are  the 
benefits  we  receive  by  baptism  ? " 

"  First,  the  washing  away  the  guilt  of  original  sin.  Second, 
the  being  admitted  into  covenant  with  God.  Third,  the  being 
admitted  into  the  Church,  and  made  consequently  members 
of  Christ,  its  head.  Fourth,  thus  we  are  regenerated  in  hajp- 
tismJ^ 

We  have  hardly  space  to  cite,  in  addition,  more  than  the 
fourth  and  fifth  sections ;  we  shall,  therefore,  give  them  entire. 

"  Fourth.  By  baptism  we  who  were  by  nature  children  of 
wrath  are  made  the  children  of  God.  And  this  regeneration, 
which  our  Church,  in  so  many  places,  ascribes  to  hajptism,  is 
more  than  barely  being  admitted  into  the  Church,  though 
commonly  connected  therewith ;  '  being  grafted  into  the  body 
of  Christ's  Church,  we  are  made  the  children  of  God  by 
adoption  and  grace.'  This  is  grounded  upon  the  plain  words 
*  Sumner  on  Apostolical  Preaching,  pp.  91,  93. 


64  REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM. 

of  our  Lord,  '  Except  a  man  be  born  of  water  and  of  the  Spirit, 
lie  cannot  enter  into  the  kingdom  of  God." 

"  By  water,  then,  as  a  means,  the  water  of  baptism,  we 
are  regenerated,  or  horn  again,  whence  it  is  also  called  by  the 
Apostle  '  the  washing  of  regeneration.'  Our  CkurcJi,  therefore, 
ascribes  no  greater  virtue  to  haptism  than  Christ  himself  does. 
Nor  does  she  ascribe  it  to  the  outward  washing,  but  to  the 
inward  grace,  which  added  thereto,  makes  it  a  sacrament. 

"  Herein  a  principle  of  grace  is  infused,  which  will  not 
be  wholly  taken  away,  unless  we  quench  the  Holy  Spirit  of 
God  by  continual  wickedness. 

"  Fifth,  In  consequence  of  our  being  made  the  children  of 
God,  we  are  heirs  of  the  kingdom  of  heaven.  'If  children,' 
as  the  Apostle  observes,  '  then  heirs,  heirs  of  God,  and  joint 
heirs  with  Christ.'  Herein  we  receive  a  title  to  and  an 
earnest  in  a  '  kingdom  that  cannot  be  moved.'  '  Baj)tism  doth 
now  save  us,'  if  we  live  answerable  thereto ;  if  we  repent, 
believe  and  obey  the  Gospel ;  supposing  this,  as  it  admits  us 
into  the  Church  here,  so  into  glory  hereafter.^''  * 

Indeed,  in  our  own  Church  the  force  of  the  formulas  has 
been  so  great  that  the  opponents  of  the  doctrine  have  been 
compelled  to  admit  that  "  baptismal  regeneration  is  certainly 
in  some  sense  true."  A  proposition  which  any  of  those  who 
stand  outside  the  Church,  boldly  and  consistently  placing 
themselves  upon  their  own  ground,  will  at  once  tell  them  to 
be  a  mere  timorous  compromise  between  Gospel  truth  (that' is 
the  Calvinistic  system)  and  the  necessities  of  their  position  as 
Episcopal  clergy. 

We  have  a  system.  It  is  in  our  Prayer  Book.  It  is  Evan- 
gelical. It  agrees  with  the  GosjdcI.  It  is  practical.  Its  ele- 
ments are  well  arranged,  coordinated  in  mutual  harmony.  It 
has  been  held  distinctly  and  uncompromisingly  by  men  as 
learned,  as  pious,  as  surely  and  clearly  converted  to  God  as 
the  world  has  ever  seen.     And  we  say  that  to  search  out  this 

*  Wesley's  Works.    Printed  at  the  Conference  office,  New  York,  for  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  1851. 


REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM.  65 

system,  to  accept  it,  to  live  by  it,  is  the  duty  of  every  clergy- 
man and  layman  of  our  Church.  This,  and  not  to  import 
among  us  the  doctrines,  and  therefore  the  difficulties,  the  objec- 
tions, the  entanglements  of  alien  systems.  For,  as  every  strong- 
minded,  earnest-hearted,  pious  Calvinist  knows,  they  have 
another  system,  one  utterly  distinct  from  ours ;  the  Methodists 
have  yet  another ;  better  learn  our  own,  know  our  own,  live 
upon  and  in  our  own  system,  than  try  to  bring  again  into  the 
Church  in  this  land  the  turbidness  and  confusion  of  thought 
and  of  conscience  of  the  Church-and-State  Puritanic  times  of 
England.  Methodism  or  Calvinism  seeking  to  wriggle  itself 
into  the  liturgical  garments  of  the  Church,  to  speak  its  own 
language  in  her  words,  is  at  the  best  a  pitiful  sight.  Some- 
what excusable  it  may  have  been  under  the  coldness  and 
immovable  hardness  of  an  establishment  and  a  State-bound 
Church ;  but  here,  in  this  land,  at  this  date,  it  is  entirely  out  of 
place.  But  upon  this  point  we  say  no  more,  we  simply  refer 
our  readers  to  the  opinion  of  Henry  Melvill,  cited  on  p.  40. 

We  go  on  with  an  analysis  of  the  Baptismal  Services    The 
minister  now  addresses  the  sponsors.     He  says : 

"Ye  have  brought  this  child  Aere  to  be  baptized ;  ye  have  prayed  that 
our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  would  vouchsafe  to  receive  him,  to  release  him  from 
sin,  to  sanctify  him  with  the  Holy  Ghost,  to  give  him  the  kingdom  of  heaven 
and  everlasting  life.  Ye  have  heard  also  that  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  hath 
promised  in  His  Gospel  to  grant  all  these  things  which  ye  have  prayed  for : 
which  promise  He,  for  His  part,  will  most  surely  keep  and  perform. 

"  Wherefore,  after  this  promise  made  by  Christ,  this  infant  must  also 
faithfully,  for  his  part,  promise  by  you  that  are  his  sureties  (until  he  come 
of  age  to  take  it  upon  himself)  that  he  will  renounce  the  devil  and  all  his 
works,  and  constantly  believe  God's  holy  Word,  and  obediently  keep  His 
commandments." 

We  see  in  this  address  the  simple  and  assured  faith  of 
parents  and  sponsors,  which  believes  that  the  child  is  brought 
here,  to  the  church  and  the  font,  for  the  purpose  of  receiving 
all  the  benefits  of  regeneration.  And  also  we  see  the  assured 
faith  of  the  commissioned  minister,  who  authoritatively  tells 
them  that  God  will  grant  their  prayers. 
5 


66  REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM. 

Another  remark  we  make  in  this  place,  which  we  consider 
of  great  importance.  Baptism,  the  Church  considers  to  be  a 
covenant,  a  valid  contract  between  two  parties,  in  which  one 
is  bound  as  well  as  the  other.  The  two  parties  are  God  and 
the  person  who  is  baptized,  whether  infant  or  adult.  As  the 
man  is  bound  by  the  covenant  unto  God,  so  is  God  bound  unto 
the  man.  !N"ow  look  at  this  last  clause  which  we  have  cited. 
Where  did  this  baptismal  service  come  from?  We  answer, 
from  the  primitive  Church  in  Rome.  Skill  in  the  law,  legal 
science  and  lawyer-like  ability,  is  one  most  prominent  charac- 
ter of  the  ancient  Roman  people.  And  what  do  we  see 
here?  A  covenant,  legally  concluded  according  to  the  prin- 
ciples of  the  Roman  law.  A  case  of  "  intercessio,"  on  the 
behalf  of  a  "  pupillus,"  by  his  "  sponsores,"  or  "  fidejussores," 
by  which  they  assume  the  "obligatio"  upon  themselves 
in  his  behalf.  The  whole  thing  being  that  peculiar  form  of 
covenant  called  "  stipulatio,"  in  which  a  person,  or  his  rep- 
resentative, appears  before  the  authorities  and  concludes  a 
contract  or  covenant  verbally.*  The  Roman  Christians  of 
the  very  earliest  times,  perhaps  even  in  the  days  of  St.  Peter 
and  St.  Paul,  were  so  certain  of  the  reality  of  the  baptismal 
covenant  between  God  and  man,  that  they  set  it  out,  formally 
and  solemnly,  as  a  contract,  in  the  terms  and  according  to  the 
principles  of  the  Roman  law !  And  our  dissenters,  at  the 
present  time,  think  it  to  be  a  mere  formal  ceremony,  having 
little  or  no  meaning ! 

We  believe  that  it  is  a  real  covenant,  a  solemn  contract 
betwen  God  and  man,  wherein  He  has  been  pleased  to  bind 
Himself  to  us  for  grace  to  aid  us  in  our  temptations,  suflScient 
unto  all  our  needs ;  and  for  guidance,  so  that  all  things  shall 
work  together  for  our  good,  if,  having  come  within  the  Church 
(being  elect  according  to  His  will),  we  "  love  Him."  We  be- 
lieve that  upon  the  fact  of  this  "  covenant,"  concluded  between 
us  and  God,  we  may  rest  with  a  living  and  a  certain  faith. 

*  Dr.  Smith's  Dictionary  of  Greek  and  Roman  Antiquities,  Article  Stipti- 
latio. 


REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM.  67 

We  may  appeal  to  Him,  upon  the  basis  of  this  fact,  as  His 
children  by  adoption  and  grace,  and  we  think  that  one  of  the 
worst  evils  of  the  popular  religionism  of  this  day  is,  that  it 
ignores  and  sets  aside  the  "  everlasting  covenant,  the  sure 
mercies  of  David."  It  tells  the  man  to  dwell  upon  his  own 
uncertain,  feeble,  shivering  self-consciousness,  instead  of  the 
clear,  indubitable  matter-of-fact  understood  and  accepted  by 
faith,  that  between  him  and  God  a  solemn  covenant  has  been 
validly  concluded,  binding  him  to  God,  and  God  to  him,  on 
certain  stipulations. 

But  it  will  be  said  that  all  this  is  merely  figurative.  If  it 
be  merely  figurative,  no  clergyman  that  is  an  honest  man 
should  ever  use  this  baptismal  form.  For  upon  that  supposi- 
tion the  whole  thing  is  a  deluding  of  the  people  into  the  belief 
of  a  fact  that  is  not  so — it  is  a  mere  trifling  with  sacred  things. 
But  it  is  not  so.  In  baptism  a  covenant  is  concluded  between 
God  and  man.  It  is  a  real  and  true  covenant.  We  receive  it 
and  accept  it  by  faith.  And  if,  as  baptized  men,  children  of 
God  and  of  the  Church,  we  have  forgotten  it,  we  should  learn 
to  recall  and  realize  it  in  our  principles  and  our  life. 

After  this  stipulation,  solemnly  concluded,  the  service  pro- 
ceeds with  four  short  prayers.     The  first  of  these  is  this : 

"  O  merciful  God,  grant  that  the  old  Adam  in  this  child  (or  person)  may 
be  so  buried,  that  the  new  man  may  be  raised  up  in  him.    Amen." 

It  is  almost  unnecessary  to  remark  that  this  is  an  allusion 
to  regeneration  through  Christ  our  Lord,  the  raising  up  of  our 
humanity  from  the  old  state  in  which  we  are  by  our  natural 
birth,  into  a  new  state,  in  which  we  are  placed  by  our  new  birth. 
"  The  first  man  Adam  was  made  a  living  soul ;  the  last 
Adam  was  made  a  life-giving  spirit,"  *  Original  sin  being  the 
partaking,  by  natural  birth,  of  the  corrupt  nature  of  the  fallen 
Adam ;  and  regeneration  the  partaking,  by  the  new  birth,  of 
the  life-giving,  spiritual,  and  glorified  man,  of  the  nature  of  our 
Lord,  who  is  in  us,  the  new  man.  But  in  regard  to  this  passage, 
we  refer  our  readers  to  the  second  and  third  parts  of  this  trea- 
*  I.  Cor.  XV.  45. 


68  REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM. 

tise,  only  we  would  not  that  they  should  pass  over  thoughtlessly 
the  clear  allusion  that  exists  in  this  prayer  to  the  doctrine  of 
the  new  birth  in  Christ.  The  other  prayers  are,  the  second 
and  third  for  grace  to  him  who  is  regenerate,  and  for  his  final 
perseverance  by  the  same  spirit ;  and  the  fourth  is  a  prayer 
for  all  those  who,  in  the  same  place  and  by  the  same  ministry, 
may  be  dedicated  to  God. 

Then  comes  a  prayer,  summing  up  the  whole  in  what  is 
really  a  collect,  in  the  ancient  sense : 

"Almiglity,  everliving  God,  wliose  most  dearly  beloved  Son  Jesus 
Christ,  for  the  forgiveness  of  our  sins,  did  shed  out  of  His  most  precious  side 
both  water  and  blood ;  *  and  gave  commandment  to  His  disciples,  that  they 
should  go  teach  all  nations  and  baptize  them  in  the  name  of  the  Father, 
and  of  the  Son,  and  of  the  Holy  Ghost ;  Eegard,  we  beseech  Thee,  the  sup- 
plications of  Thy  congregation ;  sanctify  this  water  to  the  mystical  washing 
away  of  sin;  and  grant  that  this  child,  now  to  he  baptized  therein,  may  receive 
the  fulness  of  Thy  grace,  and  ever  remain  in  the  number  of  Thy  faithful 
children;  through  Jesus  Christ  our  Lord.    Amen." 

The  minister  then  takes  the  child  into  his  arms.  He  re- 
quires of  the  sponsors  to  name  it.  He  baptizes  it  with  water 
from  the  font,  "  in  the  name  of  the  Father,  and  of  the  Son,  and  of 
the  Holy  Ghost.  Amen."  He  signs  it  with  the  sign  of  the  Cross, 
declaring  that  he  receives  it  into  the  congregation  of  Christ's 
flock.  And  then  forthwith  he  addresses  the  people ;  he  declares 
"  This  child  is  regenerate,  and  grafted  into  the  body  of  Christ's  Church." 

He  calls  upon  the  brethren,  in  a  solemn  address,  to  give 
thanks  to  Almighty  God  for  this  henefit,  and  pray 

"  That  this  child  may  lead  the  residue  of  his  life  according  to  this  begin- 
ning," 

We  lay  the  address  before  our  readers.     They  will  remem- 

*  "  In  the  early  Church  there  is  a  constant  reference  of  the  water  and 
blood  from  our  dead  Saviour's  side  to  the  sacraments.  Chrysostom  repeats 
it  four  or  five  times,  and  Augustine  thrice  as  often  in  his  writings.  Au- 
gustine has  it  in  this  way :  '  While  Adam  slept.  Eve  was  formed  out  of  his 
side ;  and  so,  while  Christ  slept,  out  of  His  pierced  and  wounded  side  the 
sacraments  flowed.'  The  same  thought  is  constantly  referred  to  by  the 
greatest  writers  in  our  Church, — Pearson,  Hooker,  Andrews,  etc." — "  Plain 
Commentary,"  condensed. 


REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM.  69 

ber  that  it  follows  instantly  and  immediately  after  the  bap- 
tism.    Then  shall  the  minister  say, 

"  Seeing  now,  dearly  beloved  brethren,  that  this  child  is  regenerate,  and 
grafted  into  the  body  of  Christ's  Church,  let  us  give  thanks  unto  Almighty 
God  for  these  benefits ;  and  with  one  accord  make  our  prayers  unto  Him, 
that  this  child  may  lead  the  rest  of  his  life  according  to  this  beginning." 

Then  all  kneel.  The  Lord's  Prayer  *  is  said.  And,  after 
that,  the  minister  says : 

"We  yield  Thee  hearty  thanks,  most  merciful  Father,  that  it  hath 
pleased  Thee  to  regenerate  this  infant  with  Thy  Holy  Spirit,  to  receive  him 
for  Thine  own  child  by  adoption,  and  to  incorporate  him  into  Thy  Holy 
Church.  And  humbly  we  beseech  Thee  to  grant,  that  he  being  dead  unto 
sin,  \  and  living  unto  righteousness,  and  being  buried  with  Christ  in  His  death, 
may  crucify  the  old  man,  and  utterly  abolish  the  whole  body  of  sin ;  and 
that,  as  he  is  made  partaker  of  the  death  of  Thy  Son,  he  may  also  be  par- 
taker of  His  resurrection ;  so  that  finally,  with  the  residue  of  Thy  Holy 
Church,  he  may  be  an  inheritor  of  Thine  everlasting  kingdom;  through 
Christ  our  Lord.    Amen." 

The  assertion  having  been  made  by  the  clergyman  that 
" this  child  is  now  regenerate"  and  " grafted  into  the  body  of 
Christ's  Church,"  the  people  are  called  upon  to  return  thanks 
to  God  "for  these  benefits,"  in  unison  with  him.  (What  an 
awful  blasphemy  and  mockery  of  God  would  this  be  if  there 
were  no  regeneration  in  baptism,  no  benefits  whatsoever ;  if  no 
work  or  influence  of  God's  spirit  had  taken  place  in  the  sacra- 
ment! and  it  be  nothing,  in  fact,  except  a  mere  convenient 
and  decorous  form ! )  And  then,  with  one  voice  together,  the 
clergyman  and  the  people,  upon  their  knees,  thank  God  that 

"  He  has  been  pleased  to  regenerate  this  infant," 
the  particular  child  then  personally  present, 

"  by  the  Holy  Spirit,  to  receive  him  as  His  own  child,  to  take  him  out  of  the 
world  into  the  Holy  Catholic  Church." 

*  "  The  Lord's  Prayer  always  strikes  me  as  beautifully  appropriate  then 
and  there,  when  one  soul  more  has  just  received  '  the  Spirit,  whereby  we  cry 
Abba,  Father  ! '  " — Bishop  Armitage  of  Wisconsin. 

■j-  In  the  modern  English  idiom  it  would  be,  "  That  he,  as  now  dead  unto 
sin,  and  living  unto  righteousness,"  etc. 


10  REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM. 

If  Christian  faith  behold  no  such  change  then  and  there 
effected  by  the  power  of  God,  why  should  clergy  and  people 
solemnly  assert,  in  the  presence  of  God,  that  all  this  has  taken 
place  ?  Why  should  they  thank  God  for  it  ?  Is  not  such  a 
thanksgiving  a  mere  mockery  of  God  on  any  other  hypothesis 
or  supposition  than  that  of  the  Church  doctrine,  that  a  mirac- 
ulous work  of  the  Holy  Spirit  in  time  and  place,  is  then  and 
there  done,  at  the  moment  of  baptism,  regenerating  that  child 
by  implanting  in  his  being  the  life  of  Christ,  and  transferring 
him  from  the  state  of  nature  to  the  state  of  grace  ? 

And  thus  as  regards  the  prayer  which  uses  these  words  of 
the  person  baptized,  that 

"  He  being  dead  unto  sin,  and  living  unto  righteouaness," 

in  other  words,  having  now  received  the  baptismal  grace  which 
in  the  Catechism  is  defined  to  be  "  a  death  unto  sin,  and  a  new 
birth  unto  righteousness ; "  which  says  that  he 

"  Being  buried  with  Christ  in  His  death," 
"buried  with  Him  by  baptism  into  death,"  ^  which  says  of  him, 

"  He  ieing  made  partaker  of  the  death  of  Thy  Son," 

made  to  have  a  living  interest  in  the  atonement  of  our  Lord ; 
how  any  clergyman  or  layman,  of  sincere  and  honest  mind  and 
good  sense,  can  make  void  this  prayer,  and  all  these  assertions 
(concerning  the  person  baptized),  and  say,  "  TTiese  things  we 
have  prayed  for,  we  have  thanked  God  for,  we  have  said  to 
have  taken  place,  in  this  church,  at  this  font,  in  this  haptism, 
of  this  infant,  and  possibly  they  have  not  taken  place  at  all, 
and  may  never  take  place !  " — how,  when  they  habitually  and 
officially  use  the  address  and  the  prayer  we  have  cited,  any 
clergy  can  think  or  say  so,  is  perfectly  astonishing  to  us ! 
Surely  the  plain  and  evident  sense  of  the  words,  lying  upon 
the  face  of  them,  and  manifest  to  all  men,  is  only  one, — gives 
only  one,  meaning.  And  it  is,  that  God  is  thanked  by  priest 
and  people,  because  that  He  has,  in  baptism,  regenerated  the 

*  Romans,  vi.  4. 


REGENERATION  IN  BAPTIS3I.  71 

child  brought  into  the  church  by  his  sponsors,  then  and  there 
to  obtain  for  him  from  God  that  unspeakable  gift. 

The  service  is  then  concluded  with  an  address  to  the 
sponsors,  not  enjoining  upon  them  any  labors  in  the  future 
for  the  regeneration  and  new  birth  of  the  baptized  child,  but 
most  carefully  and  particularly  prescribing  and  directing  its 
Christian  training  and  Christian  culture,  as  of  a  son  of  God,  a 
human  being,  new  born  into  the  kingdom  of  heaven, — taking 
for  granted  throughout,  that  there  is  a  peculiar  Christian  edu- 
cation for  him  who  is  really  and  truly  a  Christian,  and  that  the 
infant  just  baptized  is  such  by  spiritual  regeneration,  now  con- 
ferred upon  him  by  the  Spirit  of  the  Father  and  the  Son. 

We  have  done  with  our  review  of  the  Baptismal  Services. 
And  we  fear  not  but  that  the  clear-minded  and  candid  reader, 
who  has  gone  along  with  us,  with  the  Prayer  Book  in  his  hand, 
who  has  attended  to  the  sense  and  tenor  of  these  offices,  who 
has  considered  their  position  and  significance,  will  agree  with 
us,  whatsoever  his  own  doctrine  may  be,  that  if  they  do  not 
assert  that  we  are  regenerated  in  holy  baptism,  it  is  utterly 
impossible  to  say  what  they  do  mean.  If  the  words  have  any 
meaning  at  all,  this  is  the  meaning  that  they  have.  The  per- 
son, whether  child  or  adult,  by  nature  needs  regeneration,  or 
the  new  birth  through  Christ  our  Saviour.  He  is  brought  to 
the  church  for  the  purpose  of  receiving  it  in  baptism,  by  the 
efficient  grace  of  the  Holy  Spirit.  The  clergyman  and  the 
congregation  pray  for  this  grace  for  him  as  for  one  that  has  it 
not.  He  is  then  baptized.  And  immediately,  on  the  spot,  it 
is  declared  again  and  again,  in  the  most  solemn  and  most  em- 
phatic way,  that  now  he  is  regenerate,  now  he  has  the  grace  of 
the  new  birth  through  Jesus  Christ  our  Lord.  As  a  plain 
matter  of  documentary  evidence,  a  mere  fact  of  interpretation, 
this  is  and  must  be  the  meaning  of  the  Baptismal  Offices,  or 
else  they  have  no  meaning  whatsoever. 

And  the  only  reason  why  it  has  been  doubted  by  any  is, 
that  men  have  had  in  themselves  good  reason  to  doubt  the 
doctrine.     In  themselves,  we  say,  that  is,  in  the  systems,  pre- 


72  REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM. 

judices,  or  preconceived  opinions  with  wMcli  they  come  to  the 
consideration  of  these  services.  For,  upon  a  matter  so  deeply 
important  as  our  new  birth  in  Christ,  there  are  very  few  serious 
persons  who  have  not  formed  some  opinion  as  to  what  it  is,  and 
how  it  is  effected.  And  the  opinion  of  the  Church  is  certainly 
not  that  of  the  majority  in  this  land.  We  may,  indeed,  doubt 
whether  the  majority  comprehends  what  our  doctrine  is,  or 
even  understands  the  meaning  of  the  terms  we  employ. 

However,  as  an  illustration,  we  shall  take  the  case  of  a 
modern  Unitarian,  and  suppose  him  to  come  to  a  consideration 
of  these  services.     As  an  Unitarian,  he  disbelieves  and  denies 
the  fact  of  original  sin.     He  denies  the  divinity  and  person- 
ality of  the  Holy  Spirit,  accounting  the  Spirit  to  be  merely 
the  moral  and  intellectual  inliuence  of  religion  upon  the  public 
mind, — the  spirit  of  the  Gospel  in  the  same  sense  as  we  speak 
of  the  spirit  of  Shakespeare,  or  the  spirit  of  the  age.     He 
asserts  that  sacraments  are  not  in  any  way  means  of  grace,  but 
are  merely  figures  and  symbols,  suggesting  solemn  thoughts 
by  the  association  of  ideas  and  their  consequent  influence  on 
the  imagination.     Now,  with  these  doctrines,  or  negations  of 
doctrine,  in  his  mind,  he  approaches  the  doctrine  of  baptismal 
regeneration.     Is  it  not  plain  that  he  has  in  hwiself  abundant 
reasons  for  denying  it  ?     It  asserts  original  sin.     It  asserts  tliat 
sacraments  are  means  of  conferring  grace.     It  asserts  that  the 
giver  of  that  grace,  the  Holy  Ghost,  is  a  person,  and  is  God. 
Furthermore,  it  asserts  the   divinity  and  atonement  of  our 
blessed  Lord  Jesus  Christ.     The  Unitarian,  denying  all  these, 
has  therefore  abundant  reasons  for  denying  the  doctrine  of 
baptismal  regeneration.     If  he  accepted  it,  he  must  accept  all 
these.    But  all  these  great  doctrines,  which  it  takes  for  granted 
and  implies,  of  which  it  is  actually  the  crown  and  consumma- 
tion, it  is  part  of  his  profession  of  faith,  if  we  may  call  it  so, 
not  to  helieve.     He  has  good  reasons,  then,  to  disbelieve  it. 
But  these  reasons  are  in  himself,  in  his  own  denial  of  all 
these  Christian  doctrines  of  which  it  is  the  natural  amd  logical 
conclusion. 


REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM.  73 

And  yet  he  does  not  recognize  this  fact  in  any  way.  He 
is  not  conscious  of  it.  He  thinks,  and  no  doubt  sincerely  and 
honestly,  that  there  is  for  him  no  difficulty  but  in  the  doctrine 
itself. 

But,  indeed,  as  the  Unitarian  does  not  take  regeneration  to 
be  anything  supernatural,  but  a  mere  moral  change,  it  must 
be  for  him  almost  impossible  to  imagine  that  it  takes  place  in 
or  by  a  sacrament.  He  can  conceive  why,  for  an  adult,  what 
he  calls  regeneration  should  happen  at  a  camp-meeting,  under 
a  fervent  discourse,  when  men's  souls  are  wonderfully  moved ; 
but  not  that  regeneration  should  take  place  at  what  he  thinks 
to  be  only  a  calm,  cold,  formal  ceremony. 

But  the  other  denominations,  who  are  usually  called 
orthodox,  almost  as  little  can  conceive  of  such  a  time  and 
place  for  regeneration.  They  have  lost  altogether  the  doctrine 
of  sacraments,*  and  they  have  their  own  systems,  Calvin- 
istic  or  Methodist,  preoccupying  their  mind.  They  hold  these 
very  strongly,  and  sometimes  express  themselves  as  to  our 
doctrine  with  exceeding  contemptuousness  and  harshnesss. 
"Mr. ,"  said  one  of  them  to  a  clergyman  of  my  acquaint- 
ance, "  I  like  your  liturgy  and  the  order  of  your  Church  very 
well;  but  I  don't  believe    your  nonsense    about    baptismal 

regeneration.     Why,  I  was  regenerated  at  a  revival  at , 

and  I  know  it."  The  good  man  had  a  theory,  and  a  practice 
also,  of  regeneration,  and  every  other,  of  course,  must  be  con- 
temptibly untrue. 

And,  indeed,  there  has  been  among  our  own  people  very 
great  indistinctness  and  confusion,  so  much  so  as  actually  to 
invite  assaults,  or  to  afford  opportunities  for  doubts  to  make 
a  lodgment  in  the  mind.  We  have  hardly  understood  the 
eminent  practical  Christian  value  of  the  doctrine.  And 
seeing  at  the  moment  the  fervor,  the  boiling  zeal,  the  earnest 
professions  of  personal  piety  of  those  who  clearly  are  upon 
opposite  systems,  we  have  hesitated  in  our  opposition  to  them. 

*  We  do  not  say  from  tlieir  standards,  but  from  their  public  opinion,  the 
general  Christian  sentiment  of  their  people. 


Y4  REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM. 

!Nay,  we  have  been  timorous  in  asserting  our  own  doctrine, 
through  an  excess  of  Christian  charity  and  a  faith  that  believes 
too  much. 

It  requires  some  assured  courage,  some  collectedness  and 
decision,  even  some  hardness  and  setness  of  judgment,  when 
a  whole  city  is  excited,  and  fifty  ministers  are  preaching 
earnestly  and  fervently  on  the  revival  system,  and  hundreds 
of  people  are  declaring  themselves  regenerated  under  the 
working  of  that  system,  to  look  assuredly  and  calmly  to  our 
own  doctrine,  and  believe  with  a  firm  faith  in  it.  And  then, 
in  the  midst  of  the  storm  of  emotion,  to  look  forward  quietly 
to  the  time,  which  surely  shall  come,  when  nine  out  of  ten  of 
the  actors  in  the  scene  shall  recognize  the  fact  that  it  has  been 
for  themselves  mere  emotional  delusion,  mere  excitement. 

We  must  understand  our  own  doctrine  better  than  we  have 
done.  We  must  hold  it  with  more  faith.  We  must  develop 
its  meaning  in  our  life,  as  the  primitive  Christians  did,  until 
its  sacred  fulness  and  beauty  of  practical  truth  abide  upon  our 
souls  as  it  did  upon  theirs,  and  we  know  and  understand,  in 
heart  and  principle,  the  value  of  being  born  unto  Christ,  of 
water  and  the  Spirit. 

We  have,  upon  this  subject,  derived  from  the  English 
Church  too  much  discussion  upon  the  mere  letter  of  the 
Prayer  Book,  too  much  legalism.  We  rest  too  much  upon 
the  evidence  that  the  doctrine  is  really  to  be  found  in  the 
words  of  the  Bible  and  the  Prayer  Book,  as  they  truly  are, 
and  as  it  is  very  necessary  to  be  considered  that  they  are.  We 
should  make  a  further  step.  We  should  realize  the  spiritual 
value  of  the  doctrine,  practically,  to  ourselves  and  our  people. 
We  should  hold  it  forth,  and  preach  it,  and  act  upon  it,  with 
such  a  fervid  grasp  of  apprehension,  such  a  glow  of  realization, 
as  to  make  them  know  and  feel  that  they  are  in  fact  and  in 
truth  born  unto  Christ  anew  in  holy  baptism. 

We  fear  not  that  this  time  is  coming.  In  the  meantime 
we  are  in  the  minority.  Antagonist  systems  fill  up  the  field. 
Only  by  a  true  Christian  life,  exemphfying  our  own  system 


BEGENEEATION  IN  BAFTTS3L  75 

and  showing  tliat  it  can  be  made — nay,  actually  is — the  best 
basis  for  a  true  and  real  piety,  can  we  gain  any  hearing  from 
the  multitudes.  Only  by  a  calm  and  clear-sighted  and  loyal 
adhesion  to  our  own  doctrines  and  our  own  principles  can  we 
teach  men  what  we  are,  what  these  are.  And  having  this, 
we  may  trust  that  its  value  will  come  forth  more  and  more 
in  despite  of  the  stream  of  reproaches  and  imputations  which 
Puritanism  has  poured  upon  it,  until  finally  all  men  shall  truly 
comprehend  that  it  is  the  truth,  and  furthermore  that  it  is  the 
most  practical  and  the  most  lovely  of  all  the  doctrines  of  the 
Church. 


CHAPTEK  III. 

We  go  now  to  the  Catechism,  which  is  by  authority  taught 
to  all  our  children.  If  our  readers  will  turn  to  this  manual, 
they  will  find  the  doctrine  of  regeneration  in  baptism  asserted 
as  plainly  in  it  as  in  the  Baptismal  Service.  Nay,  the  doctrine 
is  there  put  into  the  mouth  of  children.  "  Thou  hast  hid 
these  things  from  the  wise  and  prudent,  and  hast  revealed 
them  unto  babes."  *  The  catechist,  whether  he  be  clergyman, 
or  parent,  or  guardian,  or  Sunday-school  teacher,  asks  of  the 
baptized  child  the  question : 

"  Who  gave  you  this  name  ?  " 

The  child  replies, 

"My  sponsors  in  baptism;  wherein  I  was  made  a  member  of  Christ,  tTie 
child  of  God,  and  an  inheritor  of  the  kingdom  of  heaven." 

Here,  "  out  of  the  mouth  of  babes  and  sucklings,"  the 
Church  brings  forth  her  truth.  She  makes  the  baptized  child 
declare  personally,  "  I  was  made  in  my  baptism  the  child  of 
God." 

Our  readers  will  notice  in  the  passage  of  the  Catechism 
above  cited  the  change  from  the  indefinite  article  in  the 
phrases  "  a  member  of  Christ,"  "  an  inheritor  of  the  kingdom 
of  heaven,"  to  the  impressive  and  telling  emphasis  of  the 
definite  article  in  the  words  "  the  child  of  God."  ISTot  a  son 
in  any  other  of  the  manifold  senses  in  which  sonship  may  be 
predicated  of  persons,  but  "  the  "  son  in  the  definite  sense  in 
which  we  are  begotten  of  the  Spirit,  and  born  anew  by  the 
regeneration  wrought  out  for  us  in  Christ  our  Lord,  and  con- 
ferred by  Him  upon  us  in  His  holy  religion. 

*Matt.  xi.  35. 


REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM.  77 

In  the  Catechism  there  is  yet  another  passage  in  which 
the  doctrine  is  as  distinctly  put  into  the  mouth  of  the  child, 
and  as  plainly  asserted  by  him  of  himself  and  the  rest  of  the 
baptized,  as  may  be.  It  is  in  the  part  of  the  Catechism  that 
treats  expressly  of  the  sacraments.  The  question  is  legarding 
baptism : 

"  What  is  the  inward  and  spiritual  grace  (in  baptism)  ?  " 

Answer.    "  A  death  unto  sin,  and  a  new  birth  unto  righteousness :  for 

being  by  nature  born  in  sin,  and  the  children  of  wrath,  we  are  hereby  made 

the  children  of  grace." 

Here  again  is  the  doctrine  of  original  sin  and  of  regen- 
erationin  baptism.  We  "  are  born  in  sin  and  the  children  of 
wrath,"  and  hereby  {i.  e.,  by  baptism)  we  are  new  born,  and 
"made  the  children  of  grace."  The  Calvinists  of  this  day  are 
very  plain  in  speech  in  telling  how  we  are  formalists,  and 
therefore  deny  the  "  doctrines  of  grace."  Yet  here  they  are — 
the  doctrines  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  and  grace,  and  original 
sin — taught  to  children  in  the  Church.  But  mark  the  differ- 
ence. They  cannot  believe  it  possible  that  the  Spirit  should 
act  in  and  by  sacraments,*  although  it  is  expressly  declared  in 
the  Holy  Scriptures. 

There  is  the  very  point  of  the  difficulty  with  them.  They 
deny  that  the  Spirit  can  regenerate  us  in  the  sacrament. 
They  disbelieve  it.  They  will  tell  you  that  it  is  utterly  unrea- 
sonable and  absurd. 

*  Calvin  could.  His  highly  systematic  and  penetrating  mind  understood 
clearly  the  objective  and  the  subjective  in  the  case  of  sacraments ;  the 
power  of  the  Spirit  in  giving  by  the  means,  and  then  of  the  personal  faith 
in  receiving  by  the  same  means.  "  Itaque,"  he  says,  "  inter  Spiritum  sacra- 
mentaque  partior,  ut  penes  ilium  agendi  virtus  resideat,  his  ministerium 
duntaxat  relinquatur,  idque  sine  Spiritus  actione  inane  et  f rivolum ;  illo 
vero  intus  agente  vimque  suam  exerente,  multa  energia  refertum."  ^ 
"  Wherefore,  in  distributing  between  the  Spirit  and  the  sacraments,  I  con- 
sider that  in  Him  dwells  the  power  of  acting ;  to  them  is  left  merely  an 
instrumental  ministry  ;  and  this,  without  the  agency  of  the  Spirit,  is  empty 
and  idle.  But  as  He  acts  inwardly  in  them,  and  puts  forth  His  power,  that 
ministry  is  filled  with  manifold  energy." 

1  Calvin's  "Institutes,"  book  iv.  chap.  xiv.  §  9. 


IS  REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM. 

ISTay,  they  will  go  farther  than  this,  and  abuse  the  doctrine 
in  the  most  virulent  and  hateful  terms.  Listen  to  Whitefield : 
"I  would  as  soon  believe  the  doctrine  of  transubstantiation  as 
that  all  persons  who  are  baptized  are  born  again."  "  Baptismal 
regeneration  is  the  Diana  of  the  present  clergy  and  the  present 
age." 

From  this  proscriptive  and  uncharitable  criticism  we  turn 
to  Bishop  Beveridge,  whose  learning  is  immense,  his  holiness 
without  a  blot,  and  his  name  known  over  the  English  world. 
He  can  believe  that  the  Spirit  regenerates  us  in  baptism. 

We  cite,  as  in  this  place  is  most  suitable,  first  from  his 
"  Commentary  on  the  Church  Catechism,"  and  then  from  his 
Sermons.  Our  readers  will  perceive  in  him  what  Calvin,  in 
his  keen  scientific  way,  calls  the  "  distribution  {partitio) 
between  the  Spirit  and  sacraments,"  the  perception  of  the 
relation  between  the  Spirit  as  the  agent,  and  the  sacraments 
as  means  which  he  employs ;  and,  again,  the  effect  of  personal 
faith  in  availing  itself  of  the  gift  proffered.  All  this  appor- 
tionment is  distinctly  marked  out  by  the  bishop.  He  is  truly 
described  by  a  prominent  Low  Churchman  *  as  "an  evangelical 
and  practical  bishop,  deeply  serious  and  holy." 

"  They  who  bring  a  child  to  holy  baptism  are  called  his 
godfathers  and  godmothers,  because  they  are  the  means  of  his 
being  then  regenerate  or  horn  again  of  God.  They  also  give 
him  the  Christian  name,  because  that  belongs  to  him  only  as 
he  is  a  Christian,  and  so  the  child  of  God  j  and  they  give  him 
this  name  in  his  baptism,  or  at  the  same  time  that  he  is  bap- 
tized, because  it  is  then  that  he  is  hrought  into  this  relation  to 
God,  so  as  to  be  made  His  child,  according  to  the  tenor  of  the 
new  covenant  which  God  hath  made  with  mankind  in  Jesus 
Christ,  promising  pardon,  and  peace,  and  grace,  and  His  own 
fatherly  care  of,  and  provision  for,  aU  those  who  repent  and 
believe  in  Him,"  f 

Again :    "  He  is  therein   also  made   '  the  child  of  God,' 

*  The  Eev.  E.  Bickersteth. 

f  Beveridge's  Works,  vol.  viii.  p.  20. 


REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM.  79 

because,  at  the  same  time  that  he  is  baptized  or  horn  again  of 
water  J  lie  is  horn  also  of  God  the  Spirit,  and  therefore  is  His 
child,  as  having  received  the  Spirit  of  adoption,  whereby  we 
cry  Abba,  Father,  that  is,  call  God  our  Father.  And,  besides, 
he  that  is  '  the  member  of  Christ,'  is  therefore  also  '  the  child  of 
God ; '  for  Christ  being  the  Son  of  God,  all  His  members  must 
needs  stand  in  the  same  relation  to  God  that  He  doth,  though 
in  a  lower  degree,  according  to  their  capacities.  Hence  it  is 
that,  as  He  it  is  that  gives  them  power  to  become  the  sons  of 
God,  so  '  He  is  not  ashamed  to  call  them  brethren,'  as  He  doth, 
because  His  Father  is  their  Father  also,  and  therefore  theirs 
because  His."  * 

We  now  go  on  to  our  extract  from  the  bishop's  sermons : 
"  What  He  (Christ)  means  by  being  '  born  of  water  and  of 
the  Spirit,'  is  now  made  a  question :  I  say  now,  for  it  was 
never  Wjade  so  till  of  late  years  ^  for  many  ages  together  none 
ever  doubted  of  it,  but  the  whole  Christian  world  took  it  for 
granted  that  our  Saviour,  by.  these  words,  meant  only  that, 
except  a  man  be  baptized  according  to  His  institution,  he  can- 
not enter  into  the  kingdom  of  God,  this  being  the  most  plain 
and  obvious  sense  of  the  wordiS,,  forasmuch  as  there  is  no  other 
way  of  heing  horn  a^ain  of  water,  as  well  as  of  the  Spirit,  hut 

only  in  the  sacrament  of  haptism But  that  we 

may  he  thus  horn  of  the  Spirit,  we  must  he  horn  also  of  water, 
which  our  Saviour  here  puts  in  the  first  place.  Not  as  if  there 
was  any  such  virtue  in  water,  whereby  it  could  regenerate  us, 
but  because  this  is  the  rite  or  ordinance  (sacrament)  appointed 
by  Christ,  wherein  to  regenerate  us  hy  His  Holy  Spirit; 
our  regeneration  is  wholly  the  act  of  the  Spirit  of  Christ. 
But  there  must  be  something  done  on  our  parts  in  order  to  it, 
and  something  that  is  instituted  and  ordained  by  Christ  him- 
self, which,  in  the  Old  Testament,  was  circumcision ;  in  the 
New,  baptism,  or  washing  with  water — the  easiest  that  could 
be  invented,  and  the  most  proper  to  signify  His  cleansing  and 
regenerating  us  by  His  Holy  Spirit.  And  seeing  this  is  insti- 
*  Beveridge's  Works,  vol.  viii.  p.  23. 


80  REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM. 

tuted  by  Christ  himself,  as  we  cannot  he  horn  of  water  without 
the  Spirit,  so  neither  can  we,  in  an  ordinary  way,  he  horn  of 
the  Spirit  without  water,  "used  or  applied  in  obedience  and 
conformity  to  His  institution.  Christ  hath  joined  them 
together,  and  it  is  not  in  our  power  to  part  them ;  he  that 
would  he  horn  of  the  Spirit,  must  he  horn  of  water  tooP  * 

Again :  "  After  all,  we  must  observe  that,  although  our 
blessed  Saviour  here  saith  '  That  except  a  man  be  born  of 
water  and  of  the  Spirit,  he  cannot  enter  into  the  kingdom 
of  God,'  yet  He  doth  not  say  that  every  one  that  is  so  born 
shall  inherit  eternal  life.  It  is  true,  all  that  are  baptized,  or 
born  of  water  and  the  Spirit,  are  thereby  admitted  into  the 
Church,  or  kingdom  of  God ;  but,  except  they  submit  to  the 
government  and  obey  the  laws  established  in  it,  they  forfeit 
all  their  right  and  title  to  the  kingdom  of  heaven.  They  are 
brought  into  a  state  of  salvation ;  but  unless  they  continue  in 
it,  and  live  accordingly,  they  cannot  be  saved.  For,  as  St. 
Peter  observeth,  '  Baptism  now  saves  us  (not  the  putting  away 
of  the  filth  of  the  flesh,  but  the  answer  of  a  good  conscience 
toward  God),  by  the  resurrection  of  Jesus  Christ.'  Baptism 
puts  us  into  the  way  of  heaven ;  but  unless  we  walk  in  that 
way,  we  can  never  come  thither.  "When  we  were  haptized,  we 
were  horn  of  water  and  the  Spirit,  so  as  to  hoAie  the  seed  of 
grace  sown  in  our  hearts,  sufficient  to  enable  us  to  bring  forth 
the  fruits  of  the  Spirit,  to  overcome  temptations,  to  believe 
aright  in  God  our  Saviour,  and  to  obey  and  serve  Him  faith- 
fully all  the  days  of  our  life But  if  we  neglect 

to  perform  what  we  promised,  and  so  do  not  answer  the  end  of 
our  haptism  by  keeping  our  conscience  void  of  offence  toward 
God  and  men,  we  lose  all  the  henefit  of  it,  and  shall  as  certainly 
perish  as  if  we  had  never  been  baptized."  f 

We  pass  on  to  the  golden-mouthed  Jeremy  Taylor,  the 
great  glory  in  warm-hearted  eloquence  of  the  English  Church 
and  nation.     He,  too,  believed  in  regeneration  in  baptism. 

*  Beveridge's  Sermons,  vol.  ii.  pp.  181, 183. 
f  Ibid.,  vol.  ii.  pp.  187, 188. 


REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM.  81 

We  extract  two  long  passages,  the  first  from  "  The  Liberty  of 
Prophesying,"  the  second  from  "  The  Life  of  Christ." 

"  Adam  sinned,  and  left  nakedness  to  descend  upon  his 
posterity,  a  relative  guilt  and  a  remaining  misery;  he  left 
enough  to  kill  us,  but  nothing  to  make  us  alive ;  he  was  the 
head  of  mankind  in  order  to  temporal  felicity,  but  there  was 
another  head  intended  to  be  the  representative  of  human 
nature  to  bring  us  to  eternal  hfe;  but  the  temporal  we  lost  in 
Adam,  and  the  eternal  we  could  never  receive  from  him,  but 
from  Christ  only;  from  Adam  we  receive  our  nature,  such  as 
it  is,  but  grace  and  truth  come  by  Jesus  Christ;  Adam  left 
us  an  imperfect  nature  that  tends  to  sin  and  death,  but  he  left 
us  nothing  else,  and  therefore  to  holiness  and  life  we  must 
enter  from  another  principle.  So  that,  besides  the  natural 
birth  of  infants,  there  must  be  something  added  by  which  they 
must  be  reckoned  in  a  new  account ;  they  must  be  born  again ; 
they  must  be  reckoned  in  Christ ;  they  must  be  adopted  to  the 
inheritance,  and  admitted  to  the  promise,  and  entitled  to  the 
Spirit.  Now,  that  this  is  done  ordinarily  in  hajatism  is  not 
to  he  denied ;  for,  therefore  it  is  called  Xourpov  7va?.iYY£vsaca(;, 
'  the  font  or  laver  of  regeneration ' ;  it  is  the  gate  of  the 
Church ;  it  is  the  solemnity  of  our  admission  to  the  covenant 
evangelical ;  and  if  infants  cannot  go  to  heaven  by  the  first  or 
natural  birth,  then  they  must  go  by  a  second  and  supernatural ; 
and  since  there  is  no  other  solemnity  or  sacrament,  no  way  of 
heing  horn  again  that  we  Tcnow  of,  hut  hy  the  ways  of  God^s 
ajpjpointing,  and  He  hath  ajpjpointed  hajptism,  and  all  that  are 
horn  again  are  horn  this  way,  even  men  of  reason,  who  have 
or  can  receive  the  Spirit,  being  to  enter  at  the  door  of  baptism ; 
it  folloivs  also  that  infants  must  enter  here,  or  we  cannot  say 
that  they  are  entered  at  all."  * 

Again  :  "Tn-  hajptism  we  a/re  horn  again  ^  and  this  infants 

need  in  the  present  circumstances,  and  for  the  same  reason 

that  men  of  age  and  reason  do.    For  our  natural  birth  is  either 

of  itself  insufficient,  or  is  made  so  by  the  fall  of  Adam  and 

*  "  Liberty  of  Prophesying,"  p.  567 ;  Eden's  edit,  of  Taylor's  Works. 

6 


82  REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM. 

the  consequent  evils,  so  that  nature  alone,  or  our  first  birth, 
cannot  bring  us  to  heaven,  which  is  a  supernatural  end,  that  is, 
an  end  above  all  the  power  of  our  nature,  as  now  it  is.  So 
that  if  nature  cannot  bring  us  to  heaven,  grace  must,  or  we 
can  never  get  thither ;  if  the  first  birth  cannot,  a  second  must  / 
but  the  second  hirth  spoken  of  in  Scripture  is  hajptism^',  'a 
man  must  be  born  of  water  and  of  the  Spirit,'  and  therefore 
baptism  is  '•Xouxpov  itaXtyyzvta'iaz^  the  laver  of  a  new  birth."  * 

"We  proceed  now  to  the  illustrious  Hooker.  His  "  Eccle- 
siastical Polity  "  was  written  nearly  three  hundred  years  ago, 
yet  to  this  day  it  is  constantly  published  and  read  in  England 
and  the  United  States.  We  venture  to  say  that  there  is  no 
great  lawyer  in  the  United  States  or  England  to  whom  his 
first  book  upon  the  nature  of  law  is  not  familiar.  Indeed, 
his  treatise  is  such  a  combination  of  judicious  and  sober  reason, 
of  grand  and  lofty  eloquence,  and  of  the  tenderest  and  sweetest 
humility  of  heart,  that  it  must  last  until  its  words  are  wholly 
obsolete  and  unintelligible  through  hoar  antiquity,  like  monu- 
mental stones  corroded  by  time,  overgrown  by  the  mosses,  and 
sunken  in  the  ruins  and  decays  of  centuries. 

We  add  here,  from  his  biography  by  Izaak  Walton,  a  little 
anecdote,  to  show  the  esteem  in  which  his  work  was  held : 

"  And  I  have  been  told,  more  than  forty  years  past,  that 
either  Cardinal  Allen  or  the  learned  Dr.  Stapleton  (both 
Englishmen,  and  in  Italy  about  the  time  when  Hooker's  four 
books  were  first  printed),  meeting  with  this  general  fame  of 
them,  were  desirous  to  read  an  author  that  both  the  reformed 
and  the  learned  of  their  own  Church  did  so  much  magnify, 
and  therefore  caused  them  to  be  sent  for  to  Rome ;  and,  after 
reading  them,  boasted  to  the  pope  (which  then  was  Clement 
YIII.),  '  That  though  he  had  lately  said  he  never  met  with 
an  English  book  whose  writer  deserved  the  name  of  an  au- 
thor, yet  there  now  appeared  a  wonder  to  them,  and  it  would 
be  so  to  his  holiness  if  it  M^ere  in  Latin ;  for  a  poor  obscure 
English  priest  had  writ  four  such  books  of  laws  and  Church 

*  "  Life  of  Christ,"  Part  i.  §  ix.  p.  260. 


REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM.  83 

polity,  and  in  a  style  that  expressed  such  a  grave  and  so  hum- 
ble a  majesty,  with  such  clear  demonstration  of  reason,  that  in 
all  their  readings  they  had  not  met  with  any  that  exceeded 
him ' ;  and  this  begot  in  the  pope  an  earnest  desire  that  Dr. 
Stapleton  should  bring  the  said  four  books,  and,  looking  on 
the  English,  read  a  part  of  them  to  him  in  Latin,  which  Dr. 
Stapleton  did  to  the  end  of  the  first  book;  at  the  conclusion 
of  which  the  pope  spake  to  this  purpose  :  '  There  is  no  learn- 
ing that  this  man  hath  not  searcht  into  ;  nothing  too  hard  for 
his  understanding ;  this  man,  indeed,  deserves  the  name  of  an 
author ;  his  books  will  get  reverence  by  age,  for  there  is  in 
them  such  seeds  of  eternity  that,  if  the  rest  be  like  this,  they 
shall  last  till  the  last  fire  shall  consume  all  learning.' "  * 

We  give  this  great  man's  judgment  on  regeneration  in 
baptism :  f 

"  They  which  deny  that  any  such  case  of  necessity  can  fall, 
in  regard  whereof  the  Church  should  tolerate  baptism,  without 
the  decent  rites  and  solemnities  thereunto  belonging,  pretend 
that  such  tolerations  have  risen  from  a  false  interpretation 
which  '  certain  men '  have  made  of  the  S  cripture,  grounding 
a  necessity  of  external  baptism  upon  the  words  of  our  Saviour 
Christ,  '  Unless  a  man  be  born  again  of  water  and  of  the 
Spirit,  he  cannot  enter  into  the  kingdom  of  God.'  For,  by 
'  water  and  the  Spirit,'  we  are  in  that  place  to  understand  (as 
they  imagine)  no  more  than  if  the  Spirit  alone  had  been  men- 
tioned, and  water  not  spoken  of,  which  they  think  is  plain, 
because  elsewhere  it  is  not  improbable  that  '  the  Holy  Ghost 
and  fire '  do  but  signify  the  Holy  Ghost  in  operation,  resem- 
bling fire.  Whereupon  they  conclude  that  seeing  fire  in  one 
place  may  be,  therefore  water  in  another  place  is,  but  a  meta- 
phor. Spirit  the  interpretation  thereof,  and  so  the  words  do 
only  mean,  '  That  unless  a  man  be  born  again  of  the  Spirit,  he 
cannot  enter  into  the  kingdom  of  heaven.' 

*  Keble's  Hooker,  vol.  i.  pp.  70,  71. 

f  He  is  known  as  "  the  Judicious  Hooker,"  wherever  the  English  lan- 
guage is  spoken. 


84  REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM. 

"  I  hold  it  for  a  most  infallible  rule  in  expositions  of  sacred 
Scripture,  that  where  a  literal  construction  will  stand,  the 
farthest  from  the  letter  is  commonly  the  worst.  There  is 
nothing  more  dangerous  than  this  licentious  and  deluding  art 
which  changeth  the  meaning  of  words  as  alchemy  doth  or 
would  do  the  substance  of  metals,  making  of  anything  what 
it  listeth,  and  bringeth  in  the-  end  all  truth  to  nothing.  Or 
howsoever  such  voluntary  exercise  of  art  might  be  borne  with 
otherwise,  yet  in  places  which  usually  serve,  as  this  doth  con- 
cerning regeneration  by  water  and  the  Holy  Ghost,  to  be 
alleged  for  grounds  and  principles,  less  is  permitted. 

"  To  hide  the  general  consent  of  antiquity  agreeing  in  the 
literal  intei-pretation,  they  cunningly  ajBSrm  that  '  certain '  have 
taken  those  words  as  meant  of  material  water,  when  they 
know  that,  of  all  the  cmcients,  there  is  not  one  to  he  named 
that  ever  did  otherwise  expound  or  allege  the  jplaoe  than  as 
implying  external  hajptism^  * 

Again:  "When  the  letter  of  the  law  hath  two  things 
plainly  and  expressly  specified,  water ^  and  the  S_pirit — water 
as  a  duty  required  on  our  parts,  the  Spirit  as  a  gift  which  God 
bestoweth — there  is  danger  in  presuming  so  to  interpret  it 
as  if  the  clause  which  concerneth  ourselves  were  more  than 
needeth.  We  may,  by  such  rare  expositions,  attain  perhaps  in 
the  end  to  be  thought  witty,  but  with  ill  advice. 

7v  w  vv  w  7v  ' 

"  The  true  necessity  of  baptism,  a  few  propositions  con- 
sidered will  soon  decide.  All  things  which  either  are  known 
causes  or  set  means,  whereby  any  great  good  is  usually  pro- 
cured, or  men  delivered  from  grievous  evil,  the  same  we  must 
needs  confess  necessary.  And  if  regeneration  were  not  in 
this  very  sense  a  thing  necessary  to  eternal  hfe,  would  Christ 
himself  have  taught  Mcodemus  that  to  see  the  kingdom  of 
God  is  impossible,  saving  only  for  those  men  which  are  bom 
from  above  ? 

*  Keble's  Hooker,  vol.  ii.  pp.  262,  263.    All  modern  critics  allow  the  fact 
as  Hooker  states  it. 


REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM.  85 

"  His  words  following  in  the  next  sentence  are  a  proof  suffi- 
cient that,  to  our  regeneration,  His  Spirit  is  no  less  necessary 
than  regeneration  itself  is  necessary  unto  life. 

"  Thirdly,  unless  as  the  Sjpvrit  is  a  necessary  inward  cause, 
so  water  were  a  necessary  outward  means  to  our  regeneration^ 
what  construction  should  we  give  unto  those  words  wherein 
we  are  said  to  be  new  born,  and  that  s^  u^aroc,  even  of  water  ? 
"Why  are  we  taught  that  with  water  God  doth  purify  and 
cleanse  His  Church  ?  "Wherefore  do  the  apostles  of  Christ  term 
haptism  a  hath  of  regeneration  f  What  purpose  had  they  in 
giving  men  advice  to  receive  outward  haptism,  and  in  per- 
suading them  it  did  avail  to  remission  of  sins  f  "  * 

"We  proceed  to  a  man  nearly  as  great  as  Hooker  in  his  day, 
Isaac  Barrow,  the  Master  of  Trinity,  ranking,  as  a  great  mathe- 
matician, with  Newton,  Pascal,  Des  Cartes,  and  the  greatest  of 
that  age.  As  a  Greek  scholar,  he  was  the  first  of  his  age.  As 
a  historical  theologian,  his  treatise  on  the  Papal  Supremacy  is 
yet  unanswered.  And  as  a  perfect  master  of  the  English 
language,  so  unequalled  was  he  that  the  elder  Pitt,  the  Earl 
of  Chatham,  the  great  father  of  as  great  a  son,  compelled 
the  younger  Pitt  to  learn  his  sermons  by  heart,  as  the  best 
preparation  for  the  copiousness  and  precision  and  power 
of  language  which  he  thought  necessary  in  a  parliamentary 
orator. 

"We  give,  from  Barrow's  "  Discourse  upon  the  Sacraments," 
a  condensed  statement  of  the  efiects  of  baptism  : 

"  The  benefits  of  baptism  are,  1st,  The  absolution  of  us 
from  the  guilt  of  past  offences,  hy  a  free  and  full  remission 
of  them  ;  and,  consequently,  God's  being  reconciled  unto  us ; 
His  receiving  tis  into  a  state  of  grace  and  favor  /  His 
freely  justifying  us.  That  these  benefits  are  conferred  in 
baptism,  many  places  of  Scripture  plainly  show,  and  the 
primitive  Church,  with  firm  and  tmanimous  consent,  did 
helieve. 

'■'■'i^,  In  haptism,  the  gift  of  God^s  Holy  Spirit  is  con- 
*Kelbe's  Hooker,  vol.  ii.  pp.  263-365. 


86  REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM. 

ferred^  qualifying  us  for  the  state  into  which  we  then  come,  and 
enabling  us  to  perform  the  duties  which  we  then  undertake  ; 
for  purifying  our  hearts,  for  begetting  holy  dispositions  and 
affections  in  our  souls ;  to  guide,  instruct,  sustain,  strengthen, 
encourage  and  comfort  us  in  our  Christian  cause. 

"  3d,  With  these  gifts  is  connected  the  henefit  of  regen- 
eration, implying  our  entrance  into  a  new  state  and  course  of 
life,  being  endowed  with  new  faculties,  dispositions,  and 
capacities  of  soul ;  becoming  new  creatures  ;  our  being  sancti- 
fied in  our  hearts  and  lives  ;  being  quickened  to  a  spiritual  and 
heavenly  life ;  in  short,  hecoming  the  children  of  God. 

"  4th,  With  these  benefits  is  conjoined  that  of  being  inserted 
into  God's  Church,  His  family,  the  mystical  Body  of  Christ, 
whereby  we  become  entitled  to  the  privileges  and  immunities 
of  that  heavenly  corporation. 

"  5th,  In  consequence  of  these  things,  there  is,  with  hajptism, 
conferred  a  capacity  of,  and  a  title  unto,  an  assurance  (under 
condition  of  persevering  in  faith  and  obedience  to  our  Lord)  of 
eternal  life  and  salvation."  * 

Hooker — Jeremy  Taylor — Beveridge — Barrow — there  are 
no  greater  names  in  any  Church  than  these,  for  genius,  for 
learning,  for  sobriety  of  judgment,  for  varied  eloquence.  Men 
as  different  in  gifts  and  character  and  temper,  as  various  in. 
opinion  as  they  were  one  in  lofty  Christian  morality  and 
holiness  of  life. 

These  men  could  believe  that  the  Holy  Spirit  operates  in 
baptism  because  the  Scripture  says  so,  and  because  it  is  a 
sacrament  for  that  purpose,  instituted  by  Christ  himself.  Who 
has  more  of  the  quality  of  faith,  Whitefield,  who  virulently 
denies,  or  these  great  men  who  reverently  believe  the  very 
words  of  Holy  Writ  in  their  literal  and  manifest  sense  ?  We 
speak  not  of  intellect,  for  no  one  can  equal  him  with  any  one 
of  these  men,  or  with  Kidley,  or  Jewell,  or  Andrewes,  or 
Pearson,  or  Sherlock — all  holding  the  same  doctrine. 

It  was  not  deficiency  of  mere  intellect,  however,  nor  want 
*  Barrow's  Works,  Edinburgh  edition,  vol.  ii.  pp.  585, 586. 


REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM.  81 

of  a  certain  energetic  and  real  althongli  narrow  faith, — it  was 
simply  that  the  system  that  he  had  been  taught,  and  which 
preoccupied  his  mind,  utterly  denied  that  the  Spirit  did  or 
could  work  in  baptism.  He,  therefore,  inveighed  against  the 
doctrine,  and  those  who  taught  and  believed  it  ;  and  did  so, 
being  an  ordained  clergyman  of  the  Church  whose  system  it  is, 
lying  plainly  upon  the  face  of  her  creeds,  services,  catechism, 
and  articles. 

But,  to  return.  Our  readers  see  in  the  Catechism  the  same 
doctrine  of  baptismal  regeneration  that  is  visible  in  the 
Services.  We  think  that  they  will  be  gratified  by  our  insert- 
ing here  the  commentary  upon  it  from  the  devotional  treatise 
upon  the  Catechism  by  Thomas  Ken,  Bishop  of  Bath  and 
Wells.  He  is  known  by  his  Morning  and  Evening  Hymns, 
which  are  sung  the  whole  world  over.  He  is  known,  too,  in 
English  history,  by  the  conscientious  devotion  with  which  he, 
with  the  other  six  bishops,  opposed  himself,  in  behalf  of  consti- 
tutional liberty,  to  James  the  Second,  at  the  risk  of  life  and 
fortune.  And  again,  in  his  successor's  reign,  he  went  down 
from  wealth  and  rank,  at  the  command  of  conscience,  into 
absolute  poverty.  No  man  more  holy,  more  sincere,  more 
earnest,  and  more  eloquent  ever  served  at  the  altars  of  the 
English  Church.  We  give  his  commentary  because  it  shows 
the  way  in  which  a  true  Christian,  a  man  of  heartfelt  holiness, 
uplifted  in  his  life  and  death  far  above  all  suspicion,  could 
view  the  doctrine  of  regeneration  as  seen  in  the  Catechism. 
The  treatise  is  called  "  The  Practice  of  Divine  Love ;  being 
an  Exposition  of  the  Church  Catechism,  to  which  be  added 
Directions  for  Prayer,"  by  the  Right  Reverend  Father  in  God, 
Thomas  Ken,  D.D,,  Bishop  of  Bath  and  Wells. 

"  The  Outward  Glory  be  to  Thee,  O  Lover  of  Souls  ;  it  was  by 
Sign.  rj^Yij  preventing  love  that  T  was  baptized  with 
the  '  outward  sign,  water,  in  the  name  of  the  Father,  and  of  the 
Son,  and  of  the  Holy  Ghost,'  that  I  should  believe  in  the  Most 
Holy  Trinity ;  that  I  should  entirely  live  devoted  to  the  three 
most  adorable  Persons  ;  that  I  shoidd  wholly  depend  on  their 


88  REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM. 

gracious  assistances,  and  that  it  should  be  my  chief  care  to  love 
and  glorify  that  triune  Love,  the  Author  of  my  salvation. 

"  The  Invisible  Glory  be  to  Thee,  O  Jesu,  who,  by  water  that 
Grace.  washes  away  the  filth  of  the  body,  dost  represent 
to  my  faith  Thy  iiwisihle  grace  in  hajptism,  which  spiritually 
washes  and  cleanses  the  soul.  , 

"  Glory  be  to  Thee,  O  blessed  Lord,  who  in  baptism  savest 
us,  not  by  the  outward  washing,  but  by  the  inward  purifying 
grace,  accompanied  with  a  sincere  vow  and  stipulation  of  a 
good  conscience  toward  God ;  by  which  Thy  propitious  love 
brought  me  into  the  Church,  the  spiritual  ark,  to  save  me 
from  perishing  in  the  deluge  of  sin,  which  overwhelms  the 
generality  of  the  world ;  and,  therefore,  all  love,  all  glory  be 
to  Thee. 

"  Glory  be  to  Thee,  O  All-powerful  Love,  by  whose '  invisi- 
ble grace'  we,  in  haptism,  die  to  sin,  to  all  carnal  affections, 
renouncing  and  detesting  them  all,  and  resolving  to  take  no 
more  pleasure  in  them  than  dead  persons  do  in  the  comforts  of 
life.     O,  may  I  ever  thus  die  to  sin  ! 

"  Glory  be  to  Thee,  O  Jesu,  who,  from  our  '  death  to  sin^ 
in  our  baptism,  dost  raise  us  to  a  new  life,  and  dost  breathe 
into  us  the  breath  of  love ;  '  it  is  in^this  laver  of  regeneration 
we  are  horn  again  hy  water  and  the  Spirit^  by  a  '  new  birth 
unto  righteousness ' ;  that  as  the  natural  birth  propagated  sin, 
our  spiritual  birth  should  propagate  grace  ;  for  which  all  love, 
all  glory,  be  to  Thee. 

"  Glory  be  to  Thee,  O  most  indulgent  Lord,  who,  in  our 
haptism  dost  give  us  the  holy  spirit  of  love,  to  he  the  principle 
of  new  life  and  of  love  in  us,  to  infuse  into  our  souls  a  super- 
natural, habitual  grace  and  ability  to  obey  and  love  Thee ;  for 
which  all  love,  all  glory  be  to  Thee. 

"  Glory  be  to  Thee,  O  compassionate  Love,  who,  when  we 
were  conceived  and  '  born  in  sin,'  of  sinful  parents,  when  we 
sprang  from  a  root  wholly  corrupt,  and  were  '  all  children  of 
wrath,'  hast  in  our  haptism  '  tnade  us  children '  of  Thy  own 
heoAienly  Father  by  adoption  and   '  grace ' ;   when  we  were 


REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM.  89 

heirs  of  hell,  hast  made  us  heirs  of  heaven,  even  joint-heirs 
with  Thy  own  self,  of  Thy  own  glory ;  for  which,  with  all  the 
powers  of  my  soul,  I  adore  and  love  Thee. 

"Conditions  required.  I  kuow,  O  dearest  Lord,  that  I  am  Thine 
I.  Repentance.  ^^  longer  than  I  love  Thee  ;  I  can  no  longer 
feel  the  saving  efficacy  of  my  baptism  than  I  am  faithful  to  my 
vow  I  there  made ;  no  longer  than  I  am  a  penitent,  no  longer 
than  I  am  a  Christian ;  if  I  '  name  the  name  of  Christ,  I  am 
to  depart  from  iniquity.'  O,  do  Thou  give  me  the  grace  of 
true  repentance  for  all  my  sins,  for  my  original  impurity,  and 
for  all  my  actual  transgressions,  that  I  may  abhor  and  forsake 
them  all ;  wound  my  soul  with  a  most  affectionate  sorrow  for 
all  the  injuries  and  affronts  and  dishonors  I  have  offered  to  in- 
finite love. 

Glory  be  to  Thee,  O  most  liberal  Jesu,  for  all  those 

"n.  Faith.  -^  '  ' 

exceedmg  great  and  precious  '  promises  of  j^ardon 
and  grace  and  glory  lohich  Thou  hast  made  to  us  Christians 
in  the  sacrament  of  l)ajptism.  O,  may  I  ever  steadfastly  be- 
lieve ;  O,  may  I  ever  passionately  love,  may  I  ever  firmly  rely 
on  Thy  superabundant  love  in  all  these  promises ;  for  which 
I  will  ever  adore  and  love  Thee. 

"  Glory  be  to  Thee,  O  sweetest  Love,  who  in  my  infancy 
didst  admit  me  to  holy  baptism,  who  by  Thy  preventing  grace, 
when  I  was  a  little  child,  didst  receive  me  into  the  Evangeli- 
cal covenant,  didst  take  me  up  into  the  arms  of  Thy  mercy 
and  bless  me.  Glory  be  to  Thee,  who  didst  early  dedicate  me 
to  Thyself,  to  prepossess  me  by  Thy  love  before  the  world 
should  seize  and  defile  me. 

"O,  gracious  Lord,  how  long,  how  often  have  I  polluted 
myself  by  my  sins !  but  I  repent  and  deplore  all  those  pollu- 
tions, and  I  consecrate  myself  to  Thee  again ;  O,  let  the  in- 
tenseness  of  my  future  love,  not  only  love  for  the  time  to  come, 
but  retrieve  all  the  love  I  liave  lost." 

We  follow  this  with  a  poem  by  the  bishop,  upon  his  regen- 
eration in  baptism.  This  poem,  we  confess,  is  not  equal  to 
his  time-honored  and  glorious  Morning,  Evening,  and  Mid- 


90  REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM. 

niglit  Hymns.  But  still  it  does  most  clearly  show  his  doctrine 
to  be  that  of  regeneration  in  baptism.  And  its  tone  plainly 
declares  with  what  feeling  his  loyal  and  loving  heart  accepted 
it  and  dwelt  upon  it. 

"  Blest  hour!  when  I,  a  new-born  child. 
Great  God,  my  God,  my  Father  styled, 
I  then,  adorned  with  Christ's  dear  name. 
To  Christ-like  bliss  had  Christ-like  claim. 
Christians,  who  Christ's  anointed  are. 
In  His  celestial  unction  share. 

"  Persons  and  things  to  God  applied. 
Were  by  anointing  sanctified ; 
To  turn  them  to  a  worldly  use 
Was  sacrilegious  abuse. 
Lord,  keep  alive  my  Christian  flame. 
With  Christ-like  love  and  Christ-like  aim. 

"  The  Holy  Ghost,  on  Jesus'  head, 
Unmeasurable  graces  shed ; 
Christians,  who  Christ's  anointed  are, 
In  His  celestial  unction  share  ; 
The  Spirit,  templing  in  their  hearts. 
His  all-sufficient  aid  imparts. 

"  O,  may  I,  with  a  faith  unfeigned. 
Preserve  my  Christian  name  unstained. 
To  copy  Christ,  O,  may  I  strive. 
From  whom  I  that  dear  name  derive  ; 
And  die,  when  death  shall  me  arrest, 
A  Christian,  with  Christ's  unction  blest."  * 

Before  we  leave  this  portion  of  our  subject,  we  would  ask 
our  readers  to  look  at  the  Catechism  in  a  general  point  of  view. 
We  ask, — Is  it  a  manual  to  prepare  the  unregenerate  for  a  pro- 
fession of  Christianity,  so  far  as  instruction  in  the  elements  of 
the  Gospel  can  prepare  them  ?  Is  it  an  elementary  system  of 
instruction  for  those  who  are  not  Christians,  not  born  of  God  ? 
Ko.  It  is  for  the  children  of  God,  sons  of  God  through  Jesus 
Christ  our  Lord, — a  personal  and  individual  instruction  for  the 
regenerated  child,  who  twice  is  taught  to  assert  himself  as  new 

*  "  Voice  of  the  Church,"  vol.  i.  p.  346. 


REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM.  91 

born,  regenerate  through  Christ  our  Lord ;  once  in  the  singu- 
lar number,  "  In  my  hajptism  I  was  made  a  member  of  Christ, 
the  child  of  God,  and  an  inheritor  of  the  kingdom  of  heaven," 
and  once  again  in  the  plural,  "Being  by  nature  born  in  sin, 
and  the  children  of  wrath,  we  are  hereby  made  the  children  of 
grace  " ;  and  again,  the  baptized  child  is  made  to  assert  of  him- 
self, personally,  that  "  God  the  Son  hath  redeemed  m^g,"  "  God 
the  Holy  Ghost  sanctifieth  Tne^''  and  personally  to  "  thank  our 
heavenly  Father  that  He  hath  called  ine  to  this  state  of  salva- 
tion." 

This,  therefore,  is  not  an  instruction  to  the  unregenerate, 
those  who  are  outside  the  Church  and  aliens  unto  Christ.  No ; 
it  presupposes  and  takes  for  granted  everywhere  that  the  per- 
son instructed  is  regenerated,  is  a  Christian,  a  son  of  God 
through  Jesus  Christ  our  Lord,  within  the  Church,  a  subject 
of  the  kingdom  of  God.  It  makes  him  assert  all  this  of  him- 
self,— it  makes  him  acknowledge  and  confess  it  personally  and 
individually. 

The  whole  Catechism,  is  hased  upon  the  doctrine  of  regen- 
eration in  hajptism.  It  bears  witness  to  that  doctrine  in  its 
entire  purpose  and  structure.  It  proceeds  expressly  and  exclu- 
sively on  the  idea  of  teaching  the  child  of  God,  as  such,  his 
duties  and  responsibilities.  And  accordingly  to  him,  as  a  re- 
generated child  of  God,  within  the  kingdom,  not  without  it, 
is  taught  the  rule  and  standard  of  his  faith,  which  is  the  bap- 
tismal creed,  the  law  and  rule  of  morality,  that  is,  the  Ten 
Commandments,  as  adopted  and  interpreted  by  Christ,  and 
illumined  by  His  grace ;  the  Lord's  Prayer,  which  is  the  Chris- 
tian's form  and  rule  of  prayer,  and  the  doctrine  of  the  sacra- 
ments. Cannot  every  candid  and  fair  man  who  examines  and 
considers  the  questions  in  this  catechism  put  to  the  baptized 
child,  its  whole  structure  and  spirit,  the  position  in  which  it  is 
placed,  and  the  relation  that  it  bears  to  the  Baptismal  and  Con- 
firmation Services,  standing  after  the  one  and  before  the  other 
in  the  Prayer  Book,  and  in  our  Christian  life,  see  that  all  this 
gives  the  very  strongest  support  and  testimony  to  the  doctrine 


92  REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM. 

of  the  Church,  that  in  baptism  we  are  bom  anew  of  water  and 
the  Spirit,  and  that  this  birth  is  no  barren  verbal  metaphor, 
but  a  real  and  actual  regeneration  in  time  and  space,  by  the 
Word  incarnate  and  His  Spirit  supematurally  raising  up  fallen 
man  from  a  death  in  sin  to  a  life  in  Christ  ?  All  this  is  very- 
manifest,  and  we  have  seen  it  testified  to  most  clearly  by  the 
ill-concealed  dislike  to  the  Catechism  which  we  have  known  in 
Calvinists  in  the  Church,  and  by  their  restless  desire  to  get  rid 
of  its  teacliing,  and  to  substitute  in  the  Sunday  schools  some- 
thing else  for  it.  Their  favorite  is  "  Bible  Questions  "  of  the 
American  Sunday-school  Union.  The  teaching  of  this  is  not 
80  Church-like  and  Scriptural,  but  is  purely  dissenting  and 
Calvinistical. 

Leaving,  now,  the  Catechism,  and  going  onward  in  our  ser- 
vices, we  reach  the  Ofiice  of  Confirmation,  in  which  those  who 
are  baptized  are  required  "  openly,  and  before  the  Church,  to 
ratify  and  confirm  the  promises  and  vows  made  for  them  by 
their  sponsors  in  baptism,"  and  wherein  the  bishop  "  lays  his 
hands  upon  them  after  the  example  of  the  holy  apostles." 
And  before  the  imposition  of  hands  he  prays  solemnly  for 
these  persons  before  him  at  the  chancel  rail,  after  they  have 
taken  upon  themselves,  publicly  and  audibly,  their  baptismal 
vows,  and  the  prayer  is  this: 

"  Almighty  and  everliving  God,  who  hast  vouchsafed  to  regenerate  these 
Thy  servants  hy  water  and  the  Holy  Ghost,  and  hast  given  unto  them  forgiveness 
of  all  their  sins  ;  Strengtlien  them,  we  beseech  thee,  0  Lord,  with  the  Holy 
Ghost,  the  Comforter,  and  daily  increase  in  them  Thy  manifold  gifts  of  grace  ; 
the  spirit  of  wisdom  and  understanding,  the  spirit  of  counsel  and  ghostly 
■  strength,  the  spirit  of  knowledge  and  true  godliness ;  and  fill  them,  0  Lord, 
with  the  spirit  of  Thy  holy  fear,  now  and  forever.     Amen." 

Here,  again,  we  find  the  doctrine  of  baptismal  regeneration. 
Here,  also,  is  the  doctrine  of  the  Nicene  Creed,  that  "bap- 
tism is  for  the  remission  of  sins."  These  doctrinal  assertions 
are  placed,  in  a  most  solemn  prayer  to  God,  immediately  before 
the  laying  on  of  hands.  Moreover,  it  is  most  expressly  and  dis- 
tinctly asserted,  of  these  persons  present,  thai  "they  are  regen- 
erated," that  "  God  has  given  to  them  forgiveness  of  all  their 


REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM.  93 

sins."  And,  furtliermore,  be  it  remarked,  that  this  prayer 
is  used  by  om'  highest  Church  officer,  the  bishop,  our  right 
reverend  father  in  God,  every  time  a  conf/rmation  occurs^  in 
the  face  of  the  whole  congregation,  in  a  solemn  address  to  the 
Almighty.  It  has  been  used  in  the  plain  hearing  of  every 
man  and  woman  who  is  now  a  communicant  of  our  Church  in 
these  United  States.  In  reference  to  each  and  every  person  now 
communing  at  our  altars,  the  most  revered  for  holiness,  and 
the  most  exalted  for  doctrine  and  truth,  has  asserted  solemnly 
before  God,  that  he  is  regenerate  of  water  and  the  Spirit, 
and  has  received  remission  of  all  his  sins. 

No  wonder  that  the  Calvinists  in  England  should  have 
hated  a  service  so  public,  so  solemn,  so  frequently  repeated,  so 
distinct  and  personal  in  its  assertion  and  its  application  of  the 
doctrine  of  regeneration  in  baptism ;  a  doctrine  completely  and 
entirely  different  from  that  which  they  held.  How  natural 
that  all  our  clergy  and  all  our  laity  should  with  one  mind 
agree  that  baptismal  regeneration  is  in  some  sense  the  doctrine 
of  the  Church ! 

ISTo  wonder  that  the  English  Puritans  should  petition  the 
Government  "  that  confirmations  may  be  taken  away,"  *  and 
systematically  try,  as  they  did,  by  all  social  and  political  means 
and  influences  in  their  power,  to  prevent  their  being  held.  The 
doctrine  of  the  Confirmation  Service  upon  the  matter  of  regen- 
eration is  certainly  our  doctrine  upon  the  matter  of  regenera- 
tion.    As  certainly  it  is  not  their  doctrine. 

But  to  close  up  our  remarks  on  this  service,  we  shall  cite 
the  objections  of  the  committee  of  Puritan  divines  at  the 
Savoy  Conference  (a.d.  1661).  They  make  exceptions  to  the 
prayer  we  have  just  cited,  and  desire  it  altered  on  these 
grounds : 

"  This  (prayer)  supposeth  that  all  the  children  who  are 

brought  to  be  confirmed  have  the  spirit  of  Christ,  and  the 

forgiveness  of  all  their  sins ;  whereas,  a  great  number  of  children 

at  that  age,  having  committed  many  sins  since  their  baptism, 

*  See  Millenary  Petition. 


94  REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM. 

do  show  no  evidence  of  serious  repentance,  or  of  any  special 
saving  grace,  and  therefore,  this  confirmation  (if  administered 
to  such)  would  be  a  perilous  and  gross  abuse."  * 

The  bishop's  reply  to  the  objection  is  this  :  "  It  supposeth 
(this  prayer,  that  is),  and  that  truly,  that  all  children  were  at 
their  hwptism  regenerate  hy  water  and  the  Holy  Ghost,  and 
had  given  unto  them  the  '  forgiveness  of  all  their  sins ' ;  and 
it  is  charitably  presumed  that,  notwithstanding  the  frailties 
and  slips  of  their  childhood,  they  have  not  totally  lost  what 
was  in  haptism  conferred  ujpon  them ',  and  therefore  adds: 
*  Strengthen  them,  we  beseech  thee,  O  Lord,  with  the  Holy 
Ghost  the  Comforter,  and  daily  increase  inthem  Thy  manifold 
gifts  of  grace,'  etc. 

"  None  that  lives  in  open  sin  ought  to  be  confirmed."  f 

These  two  committees  at  this  conference  were  evidently 
upon  different  systems  of  doctrine :  the  one  upon  the  Predesti- 
narian  and  Calvinist,  the  other  upon  the  system  of  the  English 
and  the  primitive  Church.  This  is  manifest  from  the  terms 
they  severally  use,  and  the  distinctness  with  which  they 
express  their  opinions.  To  the  one,  therefore,  upon  their 
system,  the  prayer  appeared  to  be  sinful  and  dangerous  to  the 
soul,  a  "  perilous  and  gross  abuse."  %  To  the  other,  it  asserts 
the  plain  Gospel  truth  in  reference  to  all  the  baptized,  although, 
as  a  matter  of  discipline,  they  assert  that  "none  living  in 
open  sin  should  be  confirmed."  "Well  might  our  own  bishops. 
White  and  Hobart,  assert  that  "baptismal  regeneration  is  con- 
fessedly contained  in  the  original  prayer  of  the  Confirmation 
Office." 

We  conclude  the  examination  and  exposition  of  our  Church 
Services,  with  the  opinion  in  reference  to  them  of  two  bishops 
of  the  English  Church,  which  we  are  persuaded  must,  on  a 

*  Cardwell's  Conferences,  pp.  238,  339. 

\  Cardwell,  pp.  358,  359. 

\  "  Calling  all  the  baptized  regenerate  is  one  of  the  eight  things  in  our 
Liturgy  which  the  Presbyterian  disputants  at  the  Savoy  Conference  deter- 
mined to  be  absolutely  sinful,  and  contrary  to  the  Word  of  God." — Car- 
withen's  "  History  of  the  Church  of  England,"  vol.  ii.  p.  308. 


REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM.  95 

candid  review  of  these  services,  be  the  opinion  of  the  honest, 
common-sense  reader,  as  it  is  of  these  judicious  and  learned 
prelates. 

"  We  find  that  our  Liturgy,  in  strict  conformity  to  the  doc- 
trine of  the  universal  Church,  makes  no  mention  of  regeneration, 
except  in  conjunction  with  baptism ;  and  that  its  compilers  were 
so  far  from  attempting  to  separate  what  had  been  intimately 
connected  in  the  faith  and  discipline  of  their  forefathers  in 
Christianity,  that  they  ha/ve  never  introduced  the  word  into 
their  services  even,  in  the  popular  sense.  The  learned  Arch- 
bishop of  Cashel  (Dr.  Lawrence)  has  investigated  the  geneal- 
ogy of  these  ofiices,  and  shown  that  this  doctrine  pervades  all 
the  documents  from  which  we  can  infer  their  true  drift  and 
import  in  legitimate  principles  of  analogy  and  induction.  He 
has  traced  the  doctrine  which  they  exhibit  to  the  writings  of 
Cranmer,  the  books  of  Homilies,  the  Paraphrase  of  Erasmus, 
and  the  public  services  of  the  Lutheran  Church,  And  as  we 
ascend  higher,  the  line  of  testimony  continues  unbroken,  and 
the  doctrine  of  regeneration  in  and  through  baptism  as  a 
necessary  article  of  Christian  faith,  grounded  upon  our  Saviour's 
express  declaration,  7nay  he  traced  backward,  without  interrup- 
tion, from  the  time  of  the  Reformation  to  the  days  of  the 
Apostles.''''^ 

As  Archbishop  Cranmer,  here  mentioned,  has  a  great 
name,  as  the  organizer  and  the  martyr  of  the  English  Refor- 
mation (burned  at  Oxford  by  the  Roman  Catholics,  March  21, 
1556),  we  cite  his  opinion  : 

"  But  here  we  mean  of  a  second  birth  which  is  spiritual, 
whereby  our  inward  man  and  mind  is  renewed  by  the  Holy 
Ghost,  so  that  our  hearts  and  minds  receive  new  desires  which 
they  had  not  at  their  first  birth  or  nativity. 

"  And  our  second  hirth  is  hy  the  water  of  baptism,,  which 

St.  Paul  calleth  the  bath  of  regeneration,  because  our  sins  be 

forgiven  us  in  baptism,  as  the  Holy  Ghost  is  poured  into  us  as 

into  God's  beloved  children,  so  that  by  the  power  and  working 

*  Bethel  on  Regeneration,  pp.  69,  70.    American  edition. 


96  REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM. 

of  the  Holy  Ghost  we  be  bom  again  spiritually  and  made 
new  creatures.  And  so  by  baptism  we  enter  into  the  kingdom 
of  God,  and  shall  be  saved  forever  if  we  continue  to  our  life's 
end  in  the  faith  of  Christ."  * 

*  Archbishop  Cranmer,  as  quoted  in  the  Bishop  of  Tasmania's  "  Lectures 
on  the  Catechism,"  pp.  606,  607. 


CHAPTEE  TV. 

"We  proceed  finally  to  consider  the  Articles  of  Eeligion. 
It  is  hardly  necessary  to  state  that  the  same  doctrine  of  regen- 
eration is  in  them  as  in  the  Catechism  and  Services  of  the 
Church.  Of  course  our  readers  will  bear  in  mind  the  caution 
with  which  we  began  this  exposition  of  our  standards.  We 
give  their  words  to  show,  as  a  matter  of  evidence,  that  they 
declare,  as  documents,  that  regeneration  takes  place  in  baptism, 
that  this  is  the  sense  which  they  put  upon  the  Holy  Scriptures, 
this  is  their  doctrine.  The  Scriptural  proof  that  their  doctrine 
is  true,  we  reserve  for  another  time. 

At  the  same  time  we  would  notice  some  disadvantages 
which  they  lie  under.  No  layman  signs  them  in  the  Church 
of  England, — no  clergyman  in  our  Church,  save  inclusively. 
The  Creeds,  the  Services,  the  Catechism,  are  in  perpetual  and 
reverent  use,  in  the  hands  and  the  heart,  and  upon  the  tongue, 
perpetually,  of  priest  and  people,  of  young  and  old.  But  these 
Articles  he  there,  in  the  back  of  our  Book  of  Common  Prayer, 
hardly  glanced  at  even  by  the  curious. 

They  are  in  antiquated  English  also,  so  that  their  meaning 
does  not  always  lie  upon  their  face,  but  has  to  be  explained 
and  interpreted.  And  worse  still  than  this,  unscrupulous  men 
in  the  English  Church,  taking  advantage  of  these  difiSculties, 
have  invented  theories,  enabling  them  to  evade  their  plain 
sense.  Calvinists  and  Arminians  and  Romanizers,  Church  and 
State  Privy- Councillors  in  England,  and  loose  Latitudinarians, 
have  gone,  all  of  them,  into  this  operation.  As  we  before 
have  said,  we  take  the  Articles  in  their  plain  and  literal  sense, 
ex  animo* 

*  In  the  English  Church  the  Articles  were  published  in  1629,  with  "  His 
Majesty's  Declaration  "  prefixed,  a  document  ever  since  reprinted  with  them, 

7 


98  REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM. 

Another  most  important  remark  we  would  make,  that  there 
is  a  copy  of  the  Articles  in  Latin,  which  in  the  English  Church 
is  equally  of  authority  with  the  English  version.*  This,  there- 
fore, as  a  means  of  arriving  at  the  true  sense,  and  avoiding 
ambiguities,  is  exceedingly  valuable,  even  to  us. 

"We  shall  consider  the  twenty-seventh  Article  first,  as  its 
title  is  in  reference  to  this  very  sacrament :  "  Of  Baptism." 

"  Baptism  is  not  only  a  sign  of  profession,  and  mark  of  difference, 
wliereby  Christian  men  are  discerned  from  others  that  be  not  christened, 
but  it  is  also  a  sign  of  Regeneration  or  New  Birth,  whereby,  as  by  an 
instrument,  they  that  receive  Baptism  rightly  are  grafted  into  the  Church; 
the  promises  of  the  forgiveness  of  sin,  and  of  our  adoption  to  be  the  sons  of  God 
by  the  Holy  Ghost,  are  visibly  signed  and  sealed ;  Faith  is  confirmed,  and 
Grace  increased  by  virtue  of  prayer  unto  God." 

The  other  clause  refers  to  infant  baptism.  We  omit  it 
here. 

Look  that  Article  plainly  in  the  face,  and  what  does  it  say  % 
The  same,  precisely,  that  the  services  say,  it  says  to  all  persons, 
except  their  minds  are  preoccupied  and  their  hearts  filled  with 
alien  systems.  To  them,  of  course,  it  says  anything  they  want 
to  have  it  say.  The  word  "  sign,"  manifestly,  here  is  the  same 
as  the  word  in  the  Catechism,  the  "  sacrament,"  or  "  sacra- 
mental sign,"f  that  is,  the  word  "  sign  "  is  used  in  the  ecclesi- 

and  of  authority.  In  this  it  is  expressly  said — "  No  man,  hereafter,  shall 
either  print,  or  publish,  to  draw  the  Article  aside  any  way,  but  shall  sub- 
mit to  it  in  the  'plain  and  full  meaning  thereof,  and  shall  not  put  his  own 
sense  or  comment  to  be  the  meaning  of  the  Article,  but  shall  take  it  in  the 
literal  and  grammatical  sense."  We  have,  unfortunately,  omitted  this 
declaration.  We  might,  at  least,  have  retained  the  substance  of  it,  even 
if  it  were  His  Majesty's  declaration. 

*  "  These  things  considered,  I  might  justly  say  that  the  Latin  and  English 
are  both  equally  authentical.  This  much,  however,  I  may  certainly  infer, 
that  if  in  any  places  the  English  version  be  ambiguous  when  the  Latin 
original  is  clear  and  determinate,  the  Latin  ought  to  fix  the  more  doubtful 
sense  of  the  other  (as  also  vice  versa),  it  being  evident  that  the  Convocation 
Queen,  and  Parliament,  intended  the  same  sense  in  both." — Waterland's 
Works,  vol.  ii.  pp.  316,317.    1843. 

f  See  Catechism. 


REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM.  99 

astical  sense.  Now,  what  does  the  Article  say  ?  That  baptism 
is  not  merely  a  sacrament  of  profession  and  religious  distinc- 
tion. Such  was  the  rite  of  circumcision  among  the  Jews,  a 
sacrament,  to  use  the  word  in  the  wide  sense,  without  grace. 
But  more  than  this,  it  is  "  a  sacrament "  accompanied  by  grace, 
"the  sacrament  of  regeneration,"  "whereby,"  "by  which 
sacrament  {jper  quod),  as  by  an  instrument,"  "  they  who 
receive  baptism  rightly,"  that  is  duly,  "  are  grafted  into  the 
Church,"  and  the  promises  of  forgiveness  of  sins,  and  of  an 
adoption  to  be  the  sons  of  God  by  the  Holy  Ghost,  are  visibly 
signed  and  sealed."  A  sacrament,  it  will  be  remembered,  is 
defined  to  be  an  outward  and  visible  sign  of  an  inward  and 
spiritual  grace.  The  grace  of  a  sacrament  is  not  an  absent,'^ 
but  a  present  grace,  a  grace  actually  given,  then  and  there,  to 
those  who  have  faith  and  repentance. 

We  deny  not  that  loose  interpretation,  arising  from  loose 
doctrine,  can  make  up  its  mind  to  take  this  Article  differently. 
But  the  perfect  agreement  of  the  Article  with  the  doctrine  of 
the  Church  as  contained  in  the  rest  of  her  standards  is  very 
manifest,  lies  upon  its  face. 

But  perhaps  our  readers  would  prefer,  to  our  opinion,  the 
commentary  upon  this  Article  of  a  very  great  man,  renowned 
for  piety  and  learning.  We  insert,  therefore,  here  the  com- 
ment upon  this  very  Article  of  the  celebrated  Bishop  Bever- 
idge : 

"  As  it  was  by  circumcision  that  the  Jews  were  distinguished 
from  all  other  people  in  the  world,  so  is  it  by  baptism  that 
Christians  are  distinguished  both  from  Jews  and  others ;  for 
all  that  are  haptized  are  Christians,  and  none  are  Christians 
hut  such  as  he  haptized.  And  so  baptism  is  a  mark  of  differ- 
ence whereby  Christians  are  discerned  from  such  as  are  not 
christened.  But  though  this  be  one  effect  of  baptism,  it  is  not 
all.  For  it  is  not  only  a  sign  of  our  profession,  hut  also  of  our 
regeneration,  and  therefore  it  is  called  the  washing  of  regen- 

*  "  No  vain  ceremony,  no  bare  sign,  no  untrue  figure  of  a  thing  absent." 
— "  Homilies  of  the  Church,"  cited  in  E.  H.  Browne  on  the  Articles. 


100  REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM. 

erationJ^  So  that  hy  it  we  are  grafted  into  the  Church,  and 
made  members  of  that  body  whereof  Christ  is  the  head ;  for 
we  are  all  haptized  into  one  hody,  f  and  have  a  promise  from 
God  of  the  forgiveness  of  those  sins  we  have  committed  against 
Him.  And  therefore  Peter  said  unto  them,  Be^ent^  and  he 
hajptized  every  one  of  you  in  the  name  of  Jesus  Christ  for 
the  remission  of  sin^.^  That  so  heing  justified  hy  His  grace, 
we  should  he  made  (not  only  sons,  but)  heirs  according  to  the 
hope  of  eternal  life.%  And  so  in  baptism  our  faith  is  con- 
firmed, and  grace  increased ;  not  by  virtue  of  the  water  itself, 
but  by  virtue  of  prayer,  whereby  God  is  prevailed  with  to 
purify  oiir  souls  hy  His  Spirit,  as  our  bodies  are  washed  with 
the  water ;  that  as  the  water  washeth  off  the  pollution  of  our 
bodies,  so  His  Spirit  purgeth  away  the  corruption  of  our 
souls.  I 

"  But,  because  it  is  here  said  that  baptism  is  the  sign  of  re- 
generation, and  the  word  regenerated  is  so  much  carped  at  in 
our  order  for  the  administration  of  baptism,  I  shall  next  show 
how  the  primitive  Church  did,  long  ago,  not  only  hold  the  same 
assertion,  but  also  use  the  same  expression.  So  saith  St. 
Chrysostom — 'By  water  we  are  regenerated;  by  blood  and 
flesh  we  are  nourished.'  Athanasius — '  He  that  is  baptized, 
puts  off  the  old  man,  and  is  renewed  as  being  regenerated  by 
the  grace  of  the  Spirit.'  'And  so,'  saith  St.  Basil,  'being 
baptized  in  the  name  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  we  are  regenerated.' 
The  second  council  at  Milevi  or  Milenum — '  Infants  who  can- 
not commit  any  sin  as  yet  of  themselves,  are,  therefore,  truly 
baptized  into  the  remission  of  sins,  that  what  they  contracted 
by  generation  might  be  cleansed  in  them  by  regeneration.' 
To  name  no  more,  Justin  Martyr  (a.d.  114-166)  himself, 
long  before  any  of  these,  said  expressly — 'Afterward  they  be 
brought  by  us  to  a  place  where  there  is  water,  and  after  the 
same  manner  of  regeneration  that  we  are  regenerated  hy,  are 
they  also  regenerated.''      And,  therefore,  let  such  as  carp  at 

*  Titus,  iii.  5.         f  I.  Cor.  xii.  13.         %  Acts,  ii.  38.         §  Titus,  iii.  7. 
II  Beveridge  on  the  Articles,  vol.  ii.  227,  228. 


REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM.  101 

that  word  in  our  liturgy  liereafter  know  it  is  the  primitive 
Churcli  itself  and  the  most  ancient  and  renowned  fathers  they 
carp  at."* 

We  have  pointed  out  the  connection  of  the  doctrine  of 
baptismal  regeneration  with  that  of  original  sin  in  our  services. 
We  turn  to  the  Articles  upon  that  point,  and  here  we  find  an 
indirect  but  most  emphatic  assertion  of  the  doctrine.  In  the 
ninth  Article,  in  English,  occurs  the  clause,  "  Although  there 
is  no  condemnation  to  them  that  believe  and  are  hajptlzedP 
The  Latin  is,  "  quamquam  renatis  et  credentibus  nulla  propter 
Christum  est  condemnatio."  The  reader  at  once  can  see  that 
"  renatis"  and  "are  baptized"  are  taken  as  equivalent  one  to 
the  other.  The  literal  sense  of  "renatis"  is  "are  regenerate." 
So  that  in  this  Article  the  words  "are  baptized"  and  "are  re- 
generate "  are  identical. 

In  the  Savoy  Conference,  which  we  cited  a  little  back,  the 
Puritans  object  distinctly  to  the  assertion  of  this  opinion ;  the 
Bishops  as  plainly  uphold  it.  The  Puritans,  in  that  confer- 
ence, say :  "  We  cannot,  in  faith,  say  that  every  child  that  is 
baptized  is  '  regenerated  by  God's  Holy  Spirit ;'  at  least  it  is  a 
disputed  point,  and,  therefore,  we  desire  that  it  may  be  other- 
wise expressed." 

The  Bishops  reply  :  "  Seeing  that  God's  Sacraments  have 
their  effects  when  the  receiver  doth  not  'ponere  obicem,' 
'  put  any  bar '  against  them,  we  may  say  in  faith  of  every 
child  that  is  haptized  that  it  is  regenerated  hy  OodJs  Holy 
Spirit,  and  the  denial  of  it  tends  to  anabaptism  and  the  con- 
tempt of  this  Holy  Sacrament  as  nothing  worthy  nor  material, 
whether  it  be  administered  to  children  or  no."f  It  is  here, 
therefore,  in  this  Article,  just  as  plainly  as  in  the  Catechism  or 
the  Confirmation  service. 

In  the  twenty-seventh  Article  also  the  same  identification 
occurs.  "  Christiani"  occurs  in  the  Latin;  in  the  English  the 
word  "  christened  "  or  "  baptized  "  is  its  translation.    "  Christians 

*  Beveridge  on  the  Articles,  vol.  ii.  pp.  230, 231. 
f  Cardwell's  "Conferences,"  pp.  234,235. 


102  REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM. 

are  tliey  who  are  '  christened '  or  '  baptized,'  and  they  who  are 
'baptized'  are  'Christians.'"  The  Scriptural  truth  of  the 
opinion  we  shall  afterward  expound.  At  present  we  simply 
wish  to  make  manifest  the  fact  that  it  is  asserted  in  our  Articles 
by  the  words  being  made  equivalent. 

In  the  fifteenth  Article  there  also  occurs  a  similar  identi- 
fication : 

"  All  we  the  rest,  although  baptized,  and  iorn  again  in  Christ,  yet  offend 
in  many  things." 

This  is  a  plain  assertion  that  the  baptized  are  born  again  in 
Christ.  An  interpretation  which  is  manifestly  the  natural 
one,  as  it  lies  upon  the  very  face  of  the  Article  and  is  very  dis- 
tinctly shown  by  the  grammatical  structure  of  the  Latin,  of 
which  it  is  the  translation :  "  Sed  nos  reliqui  etiam  baptizati  et 
in  Christo  regenerati."  All  others  of  the  human  race,  save 
our  Blessed  Lord,  are  liable  to  sin,  even  we  who  are  baptized 
and  thereby  regenerate  in  Him. 

The  sixteenth  Article  also  has,  by  implication  of  the 
plainest  kind,  the  same  doctrine  : 

"  Not  every  deadly  sin  willingly  committed  after  Baptism  is  sin  against 
the  Holy  Ghost,  and  unpardonable.  Wherefore  the  grant  of  repentance  is 
not  to  be  denied  to  such  as  fall  into  sin  after  Baptism.  After  we  have 
received  the  Holy  Ghost,  we  may  depart  from  grace  given,  and  fall  into  sin, 
and  by  the  grace  of  God  we  may  arise  again,  and  amend  our  lives." 

Here,  then,  is  left  a  huge  gap  between  one  part  of  the 
Article  and  the  other,  a  perfect  and  complete  want  of  connec- 
tion, if  we  take  the  ordinary  Calvinistic  doctrine.  There  is,  upon 
that  gromid,  no  "nexus"  of  sense  or  of  words  between  the  one 
part  of  the  Article  and  the  other.  Whereas,  on  the  ground  of 
the  doctrine  that  the  Holy  Spirit  gives  His  grace  by  Spiritual 
regeneration  in  baptism,  and  we  receive  Him  therein,  the  sense 
at  once  is  connected  and  clear — the  natural  sense,  which  evi- 
dently was  in  the  mind  of  the  writers  of  the  Article.  The  "  sons 
of  God"  may  fall  from  grace,  and  by  God's  grace,  even  after 
this,  they  may  repent  them  of  their  sins,  and  arise  again.    How 


BE  GENERATION  IN  BAPTIS3I.  103 

true  it  is,  we  see  by  the  ease  of  St.  Peter,  who  denied  his  Lord, 
with  cursing  and  swearing,  and  repented.  And  surely  no  man, 
regenerated  in  any  sense,  but  must  consider  that  so  far  as  he 
himself  is  concerned,  there  is  nothing  but  the  grace  of  God, 
nothing  save  His  guiding  hand,  that  can  keep  him  from  falling 
away.  Our  doctrinal  sense,  not  the  Calvinistic,  which  asserts 
that  no  son  of  God  can  fall  from  grace,  lies  upon  the  face  of 
this  Article. 

We  have  now  gone  through  our  review  of  the  Articles, 
and  have  seen  that  they  contain  the  same  doctrine  of  regener- 
ation in  baptism  as  we  have  seen  in  the  Services  and  the  Cate- 
chism ;  and,  in  the  language  of  the  present  learned  and  able 
Bishop  of  Ely,  we  conclude  that  "  the  Articles  speak  the  same 
language  as  the  other  formularies  of  our  Church  on  the  subject 
of  baptismal  grace."  * 

We  shall  bring  our  examination  of  the  Articles  to  an  end 
with  an  eloquent  passage  from  the  English  editor  of  Water- 
land's  tract  on  regeneration : 

"  From  this  connected  view,  therefore,  of  these  formularies 
of  the  Church,  it  is  evident  that  spiritual  regeneration  in  bap- 
tism is  interwoven  throughout  with  her  doctrine.  In  all  stages 
of  the  Christian  life,  from  childhood  to  gray  hairs,  from  the 
font  to  the  altar,  it  is  introduced  as  a  distinguishing  and  prom- 
inent note  of  the  Catholic  community.  Like  a  perennial  stream 
threading  its  way  under  some  place  of  flowers,  the  river  that 
makes  glad  the  city  of  God,  the  baptismal  waters  of  life  are 
heard  uttering  their  many  voices  as  they  glide  invisibly 
through  the  enclosed  garden  of  the  Church,  scattering  their 
recreating  dew  along  her  beds  of  flowers,  her  adoration  and 
her  prayers,  quickening  and  fostering  and  making  more  beau- 
tiful the  aromatic  blossoms  of  the  soul."  f 

One  place  more  in  the  Prayer  Book  we  must  refer  to,  at 
this  point  of  our  treatise,  the  Collect  for  Christmas  Day. 
This  prayer  says : 

*  Harold  Browne  on  the  Articles,  p.  423,  English  edition, 
f  Black's  "  Waterland,"  Introduction,  pp.  33,  33. 


104  REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM. 

"  Almighty  God,  wto  liast  given  us  Thy  only-begotten  Son  to  take  our 
nature  upon  Him,  and  as  at  this  time  to  be  born  of  a  pure  virgin ;  Grant 
that  we  being  regenerate*  and  made  Thy  children  by  adoption  and  grace, 
may  daily  be  renewed  by  Thy  Holy  Spirit ;  through  the  same  our  Lord 
Jesus  Christ,  who  liveth  and  reigneth  with  Thee  and  the  same  Spirit,  ever 
one  God,  world  without  end.     Amen." 

Here  manifestly  the  "  sons  of  God,"  those  who  are  regenerate 
and  made  His  children,  being  assembled  together  to  celebrate 
the  birth,  in  human  flesh,  of  the  Eternal  Son,  and  sensible  of 
their  own  weakness  and  liability  to  sin,  ask  of  the  Father  daily 
renovation  by  the  Holy  Spirit,  through  the  same  incarnate  and 
ever-living  Son. 

In  fact,  when  we  look  at  the  third  chapter  of  the  Epistle  to 
Titus,  the  fourth,  fifth,  and  sixth  verses,  it  seems  as  if  this 
collect  had  been  written  with  express  allusion  to  these  verses. 
We  are  said  there  to  be  "  saved,  not  by  works  of  righteousness 
which  we  have  done,  but  according  to  His  mercy,  He  saved 
us  by  the  laver  (washing  or  font)  of  regeneration  and  the  re- 
newal of  the  Holy  Ghost."  Dr.  "Waterland,  one  of  the  classic 
divines  of  the  English  Church,  remarks  that  "  regeneration  is 
but  another  word  for  the  new  birth  of  the  Christian,  and  that 
new  birth  in  the  general  means  a  spiritual  change  wrought 
upon  any  person  by  the  Holy  Spirit  in  the  use  ofhaptism,  where- 
by he  is  translated  from  hi§  natural  state  in  Adam  to  a  spirit- 
ual state  (sonship)  in  Christ."  He  remarks  then,  that  for  the 
son  of  God  to  avail  himself  of  this  change,  a  constant  work  of 
the  Spirit  must  be  going  on  in  his  heart,  actively,  by  the  work- 
ing of  the  grace  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  and  passively,  as  received 
by  him  with  faith  joyfully.  We  give  his  sentiments  in  their 
import,  not  verbally.  This  last  is  renovation,  the  renewal  of 
which  the  Apostle  speaks,  which  each  son  of  God  needs,  and 
for  which  he  prays.     To  use  the  words  of  Waterland,  "  It  (the 

*  At  the  date  of  this  collect,  A.D.  1549,  the  assembly  in  any  English 
church  was  altogether  of  baptized  persons,  as  to  this  day  it  is  in  some  of 
our  Eastern  parishes.  The  prayer,  therefore,  is  that  we  being  (in  the 
present  tense  continuous),  that  is,  as  having  been  and  now  being,  regenerate, 
may  from  day  to  day  be  renewed  by  the  Holy  Spirit. 


REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM.  105 

distinction  between  regeneration  and  renovation)  is  what  our 
Church  appears  to  have  gone  on,  in  her  Offices  of  Baptism,  as 
likewise  in  the  Catechism.  She  clearly  expresses  it  in  one  of  her 
collects  (the  Collect  for  Christmas  Day),  wherein  we  beg  of  God 
that  "we  heing  regenerate,  and  made  Thy  children  by  adoption 
and  grace,  may  daily  he  renewed  by  Thy  Holy  Spirit,"  etc. 
Such  is  the  public  voice  of  our  Church.''^ 

And  this  idea  runs  through  the  whole  of  our  services,  that 
there  are  among  the  human  race  two  classes — they  who  are 
brought  within  the  pale  of  God's  Church  by  holy  baptism  and 
thus  are  sons  of  God,  and  those  who  are  not  so.  The  broad 
distinction  that  there  exists  in  the  world,  by  God's  mercy  and 
grace,  sons  of  God,  a  class  of  human  beings  who  are  palpa- 
bly, distinctly,  unmistakably  such,  by  the  outward  and  visible 
means  of  grace,  the  sacrament  which  God  has  appointed  for 
that  purpose.  And  this  relation  the  person  must  acknowledge 
and  take  to  himself,  with  all  the  Christian  doctrines  arising 
from  it.  Upon  this  ground  we  must  take  our  stand,  except  we 
deny  the  whole  doctrine  of  the  Church,  except  we  say  the 
sacrament  is  nothing — the  Church  is  nothing — the  express 
words  of  Holy  Writ,  "  except  a  man  be  bom  of  water  and  the 
Spirit,  ..."  nothing — and  that  all  the  solemn  declarations 
of  the  Creeds,  Offices,  Catechism,  and  Articles  are  all  nothing. 
Such  is  the  position  a  man  must  take  in  order  to  deny  the 
doctrine  of  baptismal  regeneration. 

But  this  doctrine,  as  it  runs  through  the  whole  services  of 
the  Church,  so  through  the  whole  of  the  New  Testament  also 
is  it  felt  and  understood.  Every  time  the  word  "  son  of  God  " 
is  named  in  reference  to  any  man,  other  than  our  Most  Blessed 
Lord,  it  implies  that  he  is  regenerate  through  Christ,  in  and 
by  his  baptism.  Every  time  we  speak  in  the  Church  of  a  man 
as  our  brother,  it  is  brother  by  the  spiritual  new  birth.  Every 
time  we  say  "our  Father,"  we  call  Him  Father  by  the  right  we 
have  as  brethren  through  our  regeneration  in  Christ.  All  our 
duties,  all  our  rights,  all  our  privileges  depend  upon  that  one 
fact,  that  in  our  baptism  we  have  "put  on  Christ."     "As 


106  REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM. 

many  of  you  as  have  been  baptized  into  Christ  have  put  on 
Christ."  *  "  By  one  Spirit  are  we  all  baptized  into  one  body, 
whether  we  be  Jews  or  Gentiles,  whether  we  be  bond  or  free ; 
and  have  been  all  made  to  drink  into  one  Spirit."  f  And  this 
is  spoken  in  these  Epistles  of  all  the  visible  members  of  Christ's 
body. 

Is  there  an  actual  Church  of  God,  a  society  instituted  by 
our  Lord  and  existing  in  the  world,  which  is  a  reality  ?  Then 
admission  into  its  fold  is  a  reality  also.  They  that  are  in  it  are 
in  a  different  position  from  those  without  it.  They  are  sons  of 
God,  those  without  are  not  sons  of  God.  We  believe  that  the 
sons  of  God  need  the  renewal  of  the  Spirit,  we  believe  that 
they  may  sin ;  but  this  does  not  make  void  their  birthright. 
They  are  sons  of  God  still,  they  are  in  a  different  position  and 
state  entirely  from  the  unbaptized.  They  are  within  the  Church 
of  Christ,  and  not  without  it,  having  all  the  means  of  grace 
which  our  Lord  came  into  this  world  to  give,  if  they  will  avail 
themselves  of  them  by  repentance  and  faith ;  having  the  benefit 
of  all  the  institutions  which  He  organized  for  man,  all  the 
blessings  of  His  incarnation  and  atonement.  His  death  and 
passion,  if  they  will  only  use  them  for  the  purposes  for 
which  they  are  given. 

That  some  Christians  are  good  Christians,  habitually  living 
in  faith  and  in  the  use  of  all  the  means  of  grace ;  that  some  are 
bad  Christians,  sinning  against  light  and  against  knowledge, 
rebelling  against  God's  law,  and  neglecting  and  despising  all 
means — these  are  facts  manifest  in  the  experience  of  life,  and 
asserted  in  Holy  Writ.  But  that  sons  are  rebellious,  disobe- 
dient, wicked,  unfilial,  this  does  not  destroy  or  disprove  their 
sonship,  it  only  shows  that  they  have  abused  it. 

Why  this  should  actually  be  so  is  one  of  the  most  sad  and 
awful  inquiries  in  the  world.  How  it  comes  that  two  men 
should  have  the  same  privileges  in  all  respects,  the  same  posi- 
tion, and  the  same  means,  and  yet  that  one  of  these  men 
should  use  them  to  the  end  appointed  by  God,  the  other  misuse 
*  Gal.  iii.  27.  f  I-  Cor.  xii.  13. 


REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISiV.  10*7 

them  to  his  own  ruin ;  this  is  a  sad  problem  we  acknowledge, 
awfully  and  unexplainably  mysterious.  But  we  submit  that 
it  is  not  solved  by  the  idea  of  fatalism.  This  only  puts  the 
question  one  step  further  back,  and  does  not  explain  it.  A 
more  natural  doctrine  is,  that  God  has  given  to  men  in  his 
nature  and  being  the  faculty  of  free-will ;  and  that  our  natural 
freedom  is  perfected  by  our  freedom  in  Christ ;  and  therefore 
being  a  son,  man  can  now,  as  Adam  did  in  Paradise,  yield  to 
the  temptation  of  Satan.  And  on  the  other  hand  he  can,  by 
God's  grace,  go  onward  to  salvation,  can  realize  and  substan- 
tiate his  sonship.  "  As  many  as  are  led  by  the  Spirit  of  God, 
they  are  the  sons  of  God."  * 

We  have  now  gone  through  the  standards  of  our  Church, 
the  Creeds,  the  Services,  the  Catechism,  the  Articles,  and  we 
may  remark — 

First,  that  any  plain  man  who  has  gone  with  us  can  see  that 
most  certainly  and  distinctly  they  assert  regeneration  to  take 
place  in  baptism.  All  must  see  this,  except  those  whose 
minds  are  preoccupied,  and  their  affections  filled  with  hostile 
and  antagonist  systems. 

Secondly,  that  the  most  learned  and  able  divines  in  the 
Church  of  England,  and  our  own  Church,  interpret  these 
standards  in  this  way,  men  whose  names  are  everywhere  known 
for  piety  and  holiness  of  life,  as  well  as  for  honesty  and  sin- 
cerity. They  all  assert  that  this  sense  of  our  standards  is  the 
plain  and  manifest  sense,  that  it  is  the  system  of  the  Scriptures, 
and  also  that  it  is  the  universal  interpretation  of  the  Holy 
Catholic  Church. 

One  consideration  more  we  shall  here  present  to  our  read- 
ers. They  will  please  bear  in  mind  that  there  are  separate  and 
distinct  points  in  reference  to  such  questions  as  this  is.  The 
first  is  this — Supposing  that  there  are  documents  taken  by  any 
religious  society  as  standards,  what  is  the  legitimate  and  actual 
sense  of  these  documents,  the  true  interpretation  of  them? 
This  manifestly  is  a  legal  question,  a  question  wholly  distinct 

*  Komans,  viii.  14. 


108  REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM. 

from  that  of  tlie  truth  of  that  interpretation,  according  to 
the  Holy  Scriptures.  For  instance,  "  Do  the  Roman  Catholic 
standards  teach  that  purgatory  is  Scriptural  ? "  is  a  very  dis- 
tinct question  from  this,  "  Is  the  doctrine  of  purgatory  the 
doctrine  of  the  Scriptures  ? " 

"Do  our  standards,  therefore,  assert  the  doctrine  of  bap- 
tismal regeneration  ? "  This  is  a  distinct  question,  a  question 
of  documentary  evidence,  of  legal  interpretation,  of  authority, 
and  testimony.  This  we  count  to  be  decided,  calmly,  clearly, 
distinctly.  We  think  that  there  is  no  court  in  the  United 
States  in  which,  if  the  question  were  placed  before  them,  the 
most  keen  sifting  of  evidence,  the  most  solemn  weighing  of  it 
by  the  judicial  mind,  would  not  finally  come  to  that  conclusion. 
Apart  from  all  other  considerations,  the  doctrine  as  a  matter  of 
standards  of  authorities  and  documentary  evidence,  must  be 
declared  to  be  truly  and  legally  the  doctrine  of  our  Church. 

Its  spiritual  and  practical  meaning  has  been  obscured.  Its 
interdependence  and  connection  with  the  most  vital  doctrines 
of  the  faith  has  been  hidden  away.  Its  morality  has  been  for- 
gotten. All  this  has  taken  place  in  the  Established  Church 
of  England.  Moreover,  by  the  hostility  of  party,  the  unceas- 
ing work  of  religious  faction  for  three  hundred  years  in  our 
mother  Church,  it  has  been  oppressed  with  perpetual  imputa- 
tion and  invective,  buried  under  a  load  of  odium.  And  for  all 
these  reasons  the  plain  literal  assertion  of  the  doctrine  in  Holy 
Writ  has  been  put  aside.  The  Scripture  has  been  annulled  and 
the  Word  of  God  made  void  and  of  none  effect,  by  the  Cal- 
vinistic  and  Puritanical  traditions  of  England. 

We  stand  here,  in  the  United  States,  upon  other  grounds. 
We  say  to  the  Churchman,  "  Here  are  your  standards.  As  a 
matter  of  fact  they  assert  the  doctrine  of  regeneration  in  bap- 
tism." This  is  aU  we  ask  at  present.  We  will  go  on  next  to 
show  the  meaning  of  the  doctrine,  what  it  really  and  truly 
asserts.  To  this  we  now  ask  your  attention,  apart  from  preju- 
dice, apart  from  misintei'pretation  and  party  odium.  The 
consideration  will  then  come  up,  thirdly,  of  the  doctrine  as 


REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM.  109 

existing  in  the  Scripture,  and  of  its  connection  with  the  other 
doctrines  of  Holy  Writ.  To  these  two  subjects  in  succession 
we  request  the  attention  of  our  readers. 

We  ask  our  readers,  therefore,  to  go  on  with  us  in  this  next 
book  to  examine  what  the  doctrine  means,  its  truth  and  its 
vahie,  the  way  in  which  it  is  connected  with  and  completes 
the  other  doctrines  of  Holy  "Writ,  and  above  all,  its  beautiful 
and  most  telling  influence  upon  Christian  life  and  Christian 
morality.     This  shall  be  the  subject-matter  of  our  second  part. 


BOOK    II. 

THE  PEACTICAL  TEUTH  AE^D  FACT. 


CHAPTER  I. 

HAvnsra  thus  distinctly  seen  that  regeneration  is  declared  to 
take  place  in  baptism,  by  the  unanimous  voice  of  our  standards 
considered  as  documents,  the  next  question  is  to  consider  what 
this  change,  which  we  call  regeneration,  is  in  itself,  and  in  its 
relations  to  God  and  man.  ]^ow,  if  we  look  abroad  around 
us,  we  see  hardly  any  subject  upon  which  there  is  more  vague- 
ness and  cloudiness  of  speech,  less  distinctness  of  view,  less 
clearness  of  conception.  And  yet  one  would  think  that  the 
Christian  world,  so  called,  should  by  this  time  understand 
clearly  what  that  change  is,  in  itself,  in  its  causes,  and  in  its 
eiFects,  for  which  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  came  into  the  world, 
that  he  might  make  us  "the  children  of  God."  One  would 
think  that  the  Christian  mind  would  hold  with  a  strong  grasp, 
and  understand  the  loftiest  reality  of  this  high  truth  of  son- 
ship  and  the  new  birth,  and  not  be  carried  away  into  secondary 
meanings,  mere  moral  influences  upon  life  and  conduct,  which 
might  just  as  well  have  taken  place  if  our  Lord  had  never 
entered  into  this  world,  had  never  been  made  man  for  us. 

And  yet  so  it  is.  Christians  have  left  the  distinctness  of 
creeds  and  the  doctrinal  exactness  of  liturgies;  they  have 
spoken  with  such  glowing  sentiment  of  the  beauty  of  Christian 
morality,  and  with  such  ill-concealed  dislike  of  Christian  doc- 
trine, that  just  now  the  Christian  world,  so  called,  hardly 
knows  where  it  is  upon  any  one  given  point.  Our  readers, 
therefore,  will  excuse  us  from  any  discussion  of  the  doctrine  of 
regeneration,  saving  that  only  that  lies  within  the  limits  of  the 
Church.  Her  standards  first;  secondly,  what  her  standards 
mean  to  say;  and  lastly,  their  practical  uses  and  influence. 


114  REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM. 

This  limits  tile  discussion  within  our  own  bounds,  and  saves  a 
great  deal  of  controversial  ill-will. 

"We  come,  therefore,  at  once  to  the  question — "What  does  this 
word  regeneration  mean  ?  What  truths  and  facts  are  asserted 
or  implied  in  it  ?  And  at  once  the  answer  comes — Regeneration 
is  a  new  birth.  As  a  man  is  born  naturally  into  this  world,  so 
to  he  a  Christian^  to  enter  the  kingdom  of  hea/uen,  to  he  a  child 
of  God^  he  must  be  horn  a  second  titne,  new  horn,  regenerated. 

Now,  this  change  cannot  take  place  by  the  means  of  man's 
own  unaided  powers.  It  is  not  a  change  wrought  by  himself, 
nor  within  the  compass  of  mere  nature.  It  is  a  supernatural 
and  spiritual  change. 

Again,  it  is  a  change  connected  with  Christianity,  with  the 
Gospel  as  exclusive  of  aU  other  kinds  of  religion,  natural  and 
traditional.  Except  our  Lord  had  been  born  into  the  world, 
except  He  had  died  for  us,  had  been  buried,  had  risen  again 
and  ascended  into  heaven,  and  had  sent  from  thence  His  Holy 
Spirit,  there  had  been  for  us  no  new  birth,  no  possibility  of 
regeneration. 

What  shall  we  say,  then,  of  the  new  birth  ?  This  first,  that 
it  is  to  the  man  a  gift  supernatural  and  miraculous,  and  that  it 
comes  from  Christ  our  Lord,  the  Saviour  and  Redeemer  of  the 
human  race.  And,  secondly,  that  it  is  the  new  hirth,  explain- 
able, therefore,  in  some  degree,  by  the  natural  or  first  birth. 
For,  since  God  has  been  pleased  to  constitute  our  natural  birth 
as  the  type  and  title  of  this  great  change  that  takes  place  in  us 
by  Christ,  the  facts  of  the  one  must  give  us  some  light  to  un- 
derstand the  facts  of  the  other.  There  must  be  a  certain  par- 
allelism and  analogy,  a  degree  of  similarity  between  the  natu- 
ral and  the  spiritual  birth,  which  shall  aid  us  in  comprehending 
the  one  by  means  of  the  other,  else  had  not  the  one  been 
employed  to  illustrate  the  other. 

Now,  there  is  a  very  distinct  and  definite  cluster  of  ideas 
connected  with  the  natm*al  birth,  and  with  no  other  event  of 
man's  existence,  which,  when  we  examine  them,  we  shall  find 
to  illustrate  very  precisely  and  exactly  this  fact  of  the  spiritual 


REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM.  115 

birth,  and  to  give  us  very  clear  and  definite  ideas  concerning 
it.  If  we  look,  therefore,  at  a  child  new  born,  what  do  we 
see  ?  What  facts  do  we  behold  in  all  children  new  born,  as 
such,  putting  aside  individual  peculiarities,  and  considering  the 
nature  of  birth  generally  ?  The  answer  is,  three  facts,  mainly. 
First,  an  organic  life ;  secondly,  an  organized  being,  in  which 
that  life  exists,  and  to  which  it  belongs ;  and,  thirdly,  a  sphere 
of  existence,  into  which  that  being  has  just  been  introduced, 
in  which  it  is  to  grow  to  maturity  and  live,  and  which  contains 
in  itself  all  the  elements  to  support  and  nourish  that  life. 
Look  at  the  fact  of  birth,  these  things  it  implies — these  are 
necessary  to  it.  These  make  it  up.  Take  the  idea  of  birth, 
and  these  three  belong  to  it  essentially.  These  are  they  that 
complete  the  idea.  If  it  be  actual,  it  has  these  as  of  its  being. 
Not  having  these,  it  is  not  a  birth. 

Now,  we  acknowledge  that  the  problem  of  the  nature  and 
origin  of  life  is  one  of  the  most  inscrutable  that  there  is  in  sci- 
ence ;  but  the  fact  of  life  is  one  of  the  plainest,  the  most  man- 
ifest, and  the  most  joy-giving  that  there  is  in  nature.  Man 
recognizes  it  in  all  its  shapes,  and  is  glad  in  it.  In  the  bare 
fact  of  life  it  seems  there  is  something  delightful,  even  to  the 
animals  that  rise  not  above  mere  animal  being ;  merely  to  live 
is  a  pleasure;  their  existence  is  a  joy  and  gladness  to  them. 
And  to  ourselves,  as  human  beings,  to  behold  vigorous  life, 
the  glow  and  lustre  of  vitality  in  any  living  creature,  is  an  en- 
joyment. Nay,  to  look  at  the  lowest  form  of  life  manifesting 
itself  in  the  foliage  of  a  thrifty  tree,  or  the  waving  grass  of  a 
green  meadow,  is  most  agreeable.  In  that  sight  we  get  a 
glimpse  of  the  great  mystery  of  being,  in  which  we  our- 
selves are  so  much  interested. 

All  men,  from  the  earliest  times,  have  taken  life  to  be  a 
principle,  a  reality.  They  have  placed  the  life  above  the  ma- 
terial body  in  which  it  exists.  They  have  considered  the  body 
and  its  members  to  be  subordinate  to  it, — instruments,  organs, 
which  the  life  employs  that  it  may  work  in  this  material  world 
by  means  of  them,  that  it  may  operate  by  its  powers  through 


116  REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM. 

their  agency.  The  lil'e  has  always  been  taken  in  this  way  as 
an  organic  principle.  The  universal  mind  of  all  nations, 
savage  and  civilized,  educated  and  ignorant,  has  had  and 
has  expressed  this  conviction.  I^ay,  even  at  the  present 
time  it  is  an  underlying  principle,  it  may  be  unconsciously,  of 
all  science.  And  the  men  who  the  most  have  tried  to  cast 
doubt  upon  it  in  their  writings,  take  it  for  granted  in  every 
page.  Whiteness  and  blackness  are  everywhere  acknowledged 
to  be  merely  qualities,  none  take  them  for  entities ;  solidity 
or  figure,  hardness  or  softness,  are  universally  acknowledged 
to  be  attributes  of  matter,  not  real  existences ;  but  all  men, 
in  all  ages,  in  all  their  thoughts,  consider  life  to  be  a  con- 
stituent principle,  a  reality,  a  force.  And  furthermore,  that 
organization  depends  upon  it,  is  energized  and  vitalized  by 
it,  is  an  effect,  a  consequence  first,  and  then  an  agent  of 
it.  That  life  is  not  a  mere  attribute  of  matter,  or  an  abstract 
term  used  to  express  certain  phenomena  of  growth  or  decad- 
ence, but  is  a  real  power,  a  principle  or  constituent  force 
of  various  kinds,  propagating  itself  after  certain  laws,  taking 
up  and  appropriating  matter  to  itself,  and  employing  it  in  its 
own  support  and  in  its  own  manifestation. 

This  idea  some  may  think  to  be  a  mistaken  one,  but  it  has 
been  and  is  the  conviction  of  the  whole  human  race.  And 
we  believe  that  if  science  ever  reaches  to  the  solution  of  the 
problem  of -life  and  being,  such  will  be  its  ultimate  conclusions. 
And,  in  the  meantime,  we  must  remember  that  we  are  now  no 
nearer  this,  as  a  matter  of  rigorous  logic,  than  philosophers 
were  two  thousand  years  ago.  We  can  refute  some  of  their 
theories,  we  can  establish  none  of  our  own  that  shall  give  per- 
fect and  entire  satisfaction. 

We  see,  then,  the  new-born  child.  The  body  is  manifest 
to  us ;  to  our  eyes  it  is  visible ;  it  is  tangible,  it  is  perceptible 
to  all  our  senses.  And,  very  quietly  and  assuredly,  we  take  all 
parts  of  its  organization  to  be  organs  of  that  which  we  do  not 
see,  the  life.  The  warmth  of  the  skin,  the  regular  beat  of  the 
heart,  the  inflation  of  the  lungs,  these  to  us  are  signs  of  life. 


REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM.  117 

The  crj  that  reaches  our  ears,  the  movements  of  the  little 
frame,  are  proofs  that  the  child  is  not  dead,  but  that  its  life  is 
going  on.  The  desire  for  food  and  warmth  is  evidence  that 
the  vital  principle  demands  its  nutriment,  in  order  that  it  may 
live  and  exist  in  the  organization  in  which  it  dwells.  All 
man's  experience,  all  his  modes  of  speech,  all  his  ideas,  when 
we  analyze  them  thoroughly,  imply  a  very  definite  and  exact 
system,  of  which  the  central  doctrine  is  that  life  is  a  constitu- 
ent principle  or  force ;  not  the  result  of  external  matter,  but 
rather  the  owner  and  the  lord  of  matter,  employing  it  after  the 
laws  of  its  species  and  nature,  to  us  for  the  most  part  unknown. 
Vegetable,  animal,  spiritual  and  intellectual  life — all  the  classes 
of  life  with  which  we  are  acquainted — are  different  in  action, 
but  in  this  one  fact  they  agree,  that  each  and  every  one  of 
them  is  a  life. 

"We  have,  then,  at  birth,  the  life  connected  with  an  organi- 
zation appropriate  and  peculiar  to  it.  But  this  is  not  all.  By 
the  very  fact  of  birth,  the  living  being,  the  life  that  is  organ- 
ized, is  introduced  into  a  sphere  of  circumstances  which,  in 
various  ways,  are  just  as  appropriate,  just  as  adapted  to  tlie 
life,  as  are  its  own  various  organs.  This  sphere  lies  around 
the  living  being,  it  is  actually  in  material  contact  with  him,  it 
actually  touches  him,  it  shuts  him  in,  it  surrounds  him  bodily, 
in  space  and  in  time.  His  organs  are  material.  He  touches 
matter  everywhere.  He  is  encircled,  ensphered  by  it,  he  can- 
not get  outside  of  it.  He  is  truly  surrounded  by  a  sphere  of 
material  things.  He  sees  himself  as  a  centre,  and  the  material 
contents  of  time  and  space  lie  around  him,  upon  all  sides  of 
him,  and  in  every  direction  toward  which  he  can  turn  himself. 
There  are  material  tilings  that  belong  to  him — are  part  of  his 
own  being  by  nature — his  bodily  frame  and  the  various  organs 
that  constitute  and  make  it  up.  His  life  actuates  and  possesses 
these,  makes  them  part  of  his  own  being,  although  they  are 
material.  But  these  other  existences  that  press  upon  him,  and 
close  .  him  in, — these  he  feels  to  be  not  his,  although  in  such 
close  contact  with  him.     The  life,  with  its  organization,  con- 


118  REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM. 

stitutes  one  distinct  fact.  The  sphere  in  which  it  dwells  is 
another.  All  men  separate  these  two  facts  in  their  thoughts 
natm-ally  and  easily. 

And  yet,  essentially  different  as  they  are  in  this  one 
respect,  there  is,  when  we  think  of  it,  a  most  wonderful  cor- 
respondence, a  most  exact  harmony  between  these  two.  A 
life  introduced  and  brought,  by  means  of  a  living  organization, 
within  a  given  sphere,  has  an  exact  adaptedness  in  itself  to  all 
the  facts  of  that  sphere.  Intended  to  begin  its  existence,  to 
grow  and  to  reach  maturity  therein,  every  organ,  every  fibre 
of  the  being  is  arranged  with  an  intelligent  prescience  of  all 
the  facts  that  are  to  come  in  contact  with  it  in  its  sphere  of 
existence.  For  the  stomach,  food  ;  for  the  lungs,  air ;  for  the 
eyes,  light;  these  are  broad  and  patent  examples  which  all 
men  recognize  at  once.  And  when  the  sphere  is  different,  the 
organization  is  varied.  For  the  fish  that  must  breathe  in  the 
water,  gills  perform  the  same  work  that  the  lungs  do  for  the 
man  who  lives  in  the  air.  How  the  organs  of  animals  are 
varied,  with  a  multiform  adaptedness  to  the  sphere  in  which 
their  life  is  to  exist,  is  a  very  pleasing  thought.  This,  also,  is  a 
principle  that  lies  at  the  base  of  all  science.  We  do  not  dwell 
upon  it  any  further  than  to  merely  point  it  out  distinctly,  to 
show  its  real  value  in  the  matters  of  thought  connected  with 
the  fact  of  life. 

Wherever  in  this  world  there  is  life  of  any  kind,  a  living 
being,  there  it  has  been  introduced  into  a  sphere  appropriate 
to  that  life.  There  the  organization  in  which  the  life  mani- 
fests itself,  beginning  in  a  state  of  infancy,  as  we  call  it  in  the 
human  being,  or  incipient  growth,  as  in  plants  and  animals, 
receives  all  the  Tnaterials  of  its  increase  from  without,  appro- 
priates them  by  means  of  its  organs,  and  reaches  its  maturity 
nourished  and  upheld  by  the  nutriment  which  this  external 
sphere  supplies.  Of  course,  in  some  cases,  the  organization 
being  in  itself  imperfect,  perishes,  or  the  outward  circumstances 
fail  to  supply  the  requisite  food  and  support.  But  these  are 
exceptional  cases.     The  general  principle  is  as  we  have  said. 


REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM.  119 

All  birth,  therefore,  implies  these  three  things :  First,  a 
principle  of  organic  or  constituent  life;  secondly,  an  organi- 
zation in  which  that  life  is  embodied ;  and,  thirdly,  a  sphere 
for  the  life,  in  which  it  is  to  grow  and  increase  and  to  come 
to  maturity,  finding  in  it  appropriate  nutriment. 

If  there  be,  therefore,  a  regeneration,  an  actual  and  real  new 
birth  for  man,  through  Jesus  Christ  our  Lord,  these  two  things 
it  must  have :  First,  a  new  life  implanted  in  us,  which  we 
did  not  hef  ore  possess  ;  and,  secondly,  even  in  this  world  there 
must  be,  there  must  actually  and  really  exist,  for  this  new  life, 
a  sphere  wherein  are  supplied  to  it  all  elements  of  growth  and 
increase,  all  the  nourishment  necessary  and  competent  to  feed 
that  sacred  principle  of  spiritual  vitality.  Thus  regeneration 
must  be  no  metaphor,  no  mere  change  of  manners  or  morals, 
or  way  of  living ;  but  a  real  new  birth,  the  actual  and  real 
implantation  of  a  spiritual  principle  of  life  in  the  man,  which 
he  had  not  before,  and  the  actual  and  real  transference  of  the 
man  into  a  new  sphere  of  existence  for  the  growth  and  matur- 
ing of  that  principle,  until  it  arrives  at  full  perfection ;  and  the 
new  birth  must  take  place  not  by  any  natural  power  existing 
in  the  man,  or  in  his  fellow-men,  but  supernaturally  and 
miraculously,  here  in  this  natural  world  of  space  and  time,  by 
the  present  power  of  God. 

The  third  qualification,  that  of  the  organization,  man 
already  possesses  in  the  fact  of  his  humanity,  originally  made  in 
the  image  of  God.  This  natural  fact  supplies  the  third  require- 
ment belonging  to  the  doctrine  of  birth,  that  of  an  organization 
for  the  life  to  dwell  within.  We  understand  that  man  is  to  be 
born  anew,  to  be  regenerated,  l^ot  that  his  old  constitution  is 
to  be  annihilated  and  a  new  one  created  by  the  new  birth,  but 
that,  remaining  man  still,  having  the  same  soul,  the  same  mental 
and  moral  powers,  the  same  body,  he  is  to  be  new  born,  the  prin- 
ciple of  a  new  life  is  to  be  implanted  in  him,  and  the  man  is  to  be 
transferred  to  a  new  sphere,  in  which  that  new  life  is  to  obtain 
all  the  requisite  nourishment,  and  all  influences  material  to  its 
growth  and  progress.      Here,  then,   we  have    all  the  ideas 


120  REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM. 

belonging  to  birth,  in  this  of  the  new  birth.  First,  the 
natural  organization  and  constitution  of  man  in  all  its  parts, 
existing  first  in  one  state  and  sphere,  then  in  another ;  secondly, 
the  idea  of  a  new  spiritual  principle  of  life ;  and,  thirdly,  the 
idea  of  a  sphere  for  the  growth  and  maturation  of  that  new  life. 

Now,  this  is  precisely  what  we  say  the  doctrine  of  regener- 
ation contains,  according  to  the  Scriptures  and  our  standards. 
We  say  that  man  is  dead  by  nature  in  trespasses  and  sins ;  that 
there  is  a  ministry  sent  to  preach  repentance  and  faith  to  the 
natural  man ;  that  their  message  is  attended  by  the  influence  of 
the  Holy  Ghost,  the  Life  Giver,  so  that  it  is  not  merely  in  word, 
but  in  power.  When  the  man  is  awakened  by  these  means  to  a 
sense  of  sin,  to  a  true  sorrow  and  real  contrition  for  it,  which  is 
repentance  in  the  true  sense,  then  he  is  pointed  out  to  the 
Lamb  of  God  that  taketh  away  sin,  to  the  Redeemer  of  the 
world,  that  he  may  have  faith  in  Him,  in  His  atonement  and 
propitiatory  sacrifice.  Having  been  led  to  that  living  faith  by 
the  influence  of  the  Holy  Spirit  accompanying  the  Word  of 
the  preached  Gospel  as  its  ordinary  means,  the  man  turns  away 
from  sin  with  a  true  sorrow  and  a  real  repentance ;  he  turns, 
with  a  sincere  and  living  faith,  toward  Christ  his  Saviour. 
So  turned  (coTi-'uersws),  he  is  a  '■'' converted'*''  man.  Such  was 
Zacchseus,  such  Cornelius  the  Centurion,  such  Saul  of  Tarsus 
after  he  had  seen  the  Lord  and  before  he  was  baptized  by 
Ananias. 

Such^  I  have  no  doubt,  are  multitudes  at  this  day  who  are 
not  sons  of  God  in  the  full  sense,  because,  under  the  influence 
of  an  imperfect  system,  they  have  been  taught  that  ^Ho  he 
converted''''  is  the  same  with  being  ^^  regenerated.^^  They  have 
understood  and  accepted  the  one  half,  and  not  the  other  half,  of 
the  text,'  "^  that  helieveth  and  is  baptized  shall  be  saved." 
For  repentance  and  faith  are  not  all.  Even  if  sincere  and  true, 
they  make  not  up  the  whole  of  the  Christian's  change.  They 
are  prerequisites,  absolutely  necessary  in  the  man  as  a  prepar- 
ation to  his  regeneration,  but,  of  themselves,  they  are  not 
regeneration,  do  not  give  regeneration.     They,  as  coming  from 


REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM.  121 

the  Holy  Spirit,  working  upon  an  honest  and  true  heart,  adapt 
and  prepare  the  man  for  the  new  birth,  but  are  not  the  new 
birth  itself. 

What,  then,  is  the  new  birth  or  regeneration  ?  It  is  this : 
That  there  is,  originating  from  Christ  our  Lord  and  His  incar- 
nation and  atonement  and  glorification,  an  organic  principle 
of  spiritual  life  and  vitality,  which  is  capable  of  being  im- 
planted in  the  man  who  is  prepared  for  it ;  that  this  new 
principle — "  the  Life  of  Christ  "  it  is  called  in  the  New  Testa- 
ment— is,  by  the  power  of  the  Holy  Sjpirit,  a  miraculous,  super- 
natural gift  to  the  individual  man  who  by  faith  and  repentance 
is  prepared  for  such  a  blessing.  This,  together  with  entrance 
into  the  Church  of  God,  its  sphere,  actually  and  really  is  the 
new  birth  ;  the  implantation  of  this  new  life  in  the  fallen  being 
and  constitution  of  man,  and  at  the  same  time  his  being  brought 
into  God's  Church  upon  earth. 

This  new  life  is  the  first  idea  and  fact  of  regeneration. 
And  as  the  child  who  is  born,  by  the  very  fact  of  birth,  is 
placed  within  a  sphere  wherein  are  contained  all  the  elements 
of  nourishment  and  supply  to  the  vital  principle  of  life  which 
he  has  in  the  natural  birth,  and  as  this  entrance  within  such  a 
sphere  of  supply  forms  part  of  the  idea  of  that  birth,  so  it  is 
with  the  new  birth  from  heaven.  The  sphere  of  material 
things  wherein  the  air  exists  for  the  lungs,  food  for  the  appetite, 
light  for  the  eyes  of  the  infant,  has  its  parallel  to  the  regener- 
ated Christian  man  in  the  Church,  which  is  the  sphere  of  life 
and  nutriment  for  him  who  is  new  born  in  Christ.  Herein  all 
the  means  of  grace  exist  in  full  plenitude  for  the  new-born 
son  of  God.  Herein  the  regenerated  Christian  is  to  grow,  and 
in  it  the  life  is  to  be  made  perfect,  to  come  to  maturity  and 
ripen  for  heaven.  In  this,  unto  the  inward  life,  all  external 
nourishment  is  given.  To  the  inward  living  faith  of  the  son  of 
God,  the  outward  objective  faith  is  given  in  express  and  dis- 
tinct creeds,  and  in  the  Holy  Scrij)tures.  In  it,  also,  is  given  the 
constant  demand  and  opportunity  for  Christian  works  of  love, 
of  benevolence  and  self-denial,  perfecting  faith  by  charity.     To 


122  REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM. 

the  inward  feeling  of  love  to  God,  of  reverence  to  His  name, 
the  outward  exercise  of  the  tenderest,  of  the  grandest,  the 
most  solemn  and  lovely  forms  of  devotion,  is  given  in  the 
liturgies  of  the  Church.  To  the  thoughtful  soul,  meditating 
on  all  tlie  problems  of  man's  being  and  destiny,  all  these 
problems  are  examined  and  stated,  discussed  and  decided  in 
the  Holy  Scriptures. 

Look  at  the  loftiest  intellects,  the  tenderest  and  the  noblest 
human  souls  in  the  history  of  our  race  from  the  earliest  ages, 
discussing  all  these  problems,  brooding  over  them  with  the  most 
assiduous  meditation.  See  in  the  remotest  East,  Gotama 
Buddha,  Zerdusht,  Confucius,  and  Lao-tze.  Then  among  the 
Greeks,  behold  Pythagoras  and  Socrates,  Plato  and  Aristotle, 
noble  souls  all  of  them,  seeking  in  the  darkness  of  heathenism 
for  a  solution  of  the  problems  of  life.  And  then  sweep  down 
the  stream  of  intellect  and  civilization  until  you  see  the  great 
Germans,  Spinoza,  Kant,  and  Goethe,  central  suns  surrounded 
by  smaller  and  dependent  orbs,  and  what  is  it  that  you  behold  ? 
The  same  problems  examined  by  them,  by  the  same  dim,  uncer- 
tain light  of  mere  nature,  and  with  the  same  result  of  uncer- 
tainty and  variety  of  speculation. 

And  then  look  to  the  man  within  the  Church  of  Christ 
when  in  its  normal  condition,  uncorrupted  and  free.  In  his 
ears  are  read  every  day,  to  his  inquiring  soul  are  given, 
the  clear  statement  of  all  these  problems  and  their  solution. 
From  the  words  of  Job,  the  Idumean  prince,  long  before  the 
times  of  Moses,  through  a  manifold  stream  of  lofty  and  lowly 
intellects,  this  heavenly  wisdom  passes  onward  until  it  ends  in 
these  two  men  of  great  genius,  St.  Paul  and  St.  John.  To  the 
man  brought  within  the  Church  all  the  problems  of  life  and 
being  are  stated  and  solved  in  his  ears  plainly  in  the  works  of 
so  many  writers,  reaching  over  so  long  and  extended  a  tract 
of  time ;  for  the  Bible  is  not  one  book  by  one  author,  of  one 
epoch,  but  is  the  work  of  upward  of  thirty  authors,  extending 
over  two  thousand  four  hundred  years. 

In  all  human  souls,  therefore  (since  our  Lord  ascended  to 


REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM.  123 

heaven),  of  all  ages  and  of  all  countries,  the  life  of  Christ  can 
be  implanted  by  spiritual  regeneration  ;  and  for  them  is  open 
the  heavenly  sphere  of  being,  the  Holy  Catholic  Church  of  God, 
fall  of  life,  full  of  spiritual,  intellectual,  and  moral  truth.  The 
breath  of  the  Holy  Spirit  in  it  as  a  vital  air  lies  around  them. 
The  guardianship  of  the  holy  angels,  ministering  spirits  to 
those  who  are  called  according  to  his  will,  is  given  to  them. 
The  powers  of  Him  who  now  reigns  and  mediates  for  us  in 
heaven  in  His  ascended  and  living  humanity,  our  King  whose 
power  is  omnipotence,  our  Prophet  whose  counsel  is  omniscience, 
our  Priest  whose  atonement  is  ever  before  the  throne  as  a  pre- 
vailing sacrifice  for  all  our  sins.  Behold  all  these  are  for  us,  these 
spiritual  blessings  of  the  Church  of  God  upon  earth,  contents 
of  the  sphere  into  which  we  are  introduced  by  our  regeneration. 

See  again  the  sacramental  nutriment  that  is  given  us.  Con- 
sider how  even  material  things,  perishing  elements,  are  made, 
in  the  Church,  the  means  of  heavenly  nourishment  to  the 
spiritual  life  in  us.  Consider,  also,  how  all  the  relations  of 
our  natural  existence  are  employed  as  agencies  of  the  Holy 
Spirit  in  the  Church,  all  feed  the  sacred  flame  of  the  new  life 
in  us.  The  mother  becomes  a  Christian  mother,  the  father  a 
Christian  father ;  the  relation  of  brother  and  sister,  of  wife  and 
husband,  of  sovereign  and  subject,  of  magistrate  and  citizen,  all 
are  sanctified.  As  the  electric  fluid  can  dwell  within  and  issue 
from  all  material  bodies  in  this  material  sphere,  making  every 
prominent  point  a  conductor,  so,  for  the  regenerate  man,  the 
child  of  God,  all  the  natural  relations  of  humanity  are  brought 
within  the  supernatural  sphere  wherein  he  exists ;  all  are  made 
means  whereby  the  Holy  Spirit  feeds  the  life  that  is  in  him, — 
all  things  become  in  some  measure  sacraments,  outward  and 
visible  efficient  signs  of  the  inward  and  spiritual  grace  wherein 
we  stand. 

And,  again,  the  moral  and  intellectual  influence  of  this  new 
sphere,  how  transcendent  it  is !  Oh,  that  these  classes  of  Chris- 
tians, who  put  away  the  liturgic  services  of  the  Church  on  vari- 
ous pretences,  only  knew  this, — they  who  use  no  liturgy  at  all, 


124  REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM. 

and  they  who  use  one  in  a  strange  tongue  not  understood  by 
the  people !  The  mere  moral  and  mental  value  of  the  Psalms 
of  David,  dwelt  upon  in  a  Christian  sense,  devotionally,  by  the 
soul  from  childhood  to  old  age  in  the  public  services  of  the 
Church,  is  too  great  to  be  appraised.  The  single  chapter  in  the 
Burial  Service,  on  the  resurrection,  heard,  as  it  is,  and  acquiesced 
in,  by  millions  in  the  presence  of  their  dead,  does  more  than  all 
the  ablest  intellects  can  do  or  have  done,  by  writing  or  preach- 
ing, in  behalf  of  that  truth  of  the  Gospel,  since  the  English 
language  began  to  be  spoken  in  its  present  form.  The  Ten 
Commandments,  read  with  solemn  authority  from  the  altar, 
accepted  by  the  kneeling  multitudes  in  a  Christian  sense,  and  this 
taking  place  in  each  Church  over  the  world  fifty-two  times  in 
the  year, — this  is  a  moral  and  intellectual  teaching  and  training, 
is  a  constant  education  in  true  morality,  in  a  way  and  to  a 
degree  that  man  hardly  dreams  of. 

In  the  whole  Bible,  read  each  year  in  the  ears  of  the  people, 
see  the  effect  of  the  Christian  year.  See,  again,  the  various 
ofiices  of  the  Church,  both  regular  and  occasional.  See  the 
catechising  of  clergy  and  parents.  See  the  great  and  precious 
influence  of  the  pastoral  care,  of  the  threefold  ministry.  Con- 
sider these  things — for  all  these,  manifestly,  are  contained  for 
the  individual  man  in  that  outward  sphere  of  the  Church  into 
which  he  is  introduced  at  his  baptism — and  you  will  say  that  no 
wonder  it  is  called  a  new  birth ;  for  all  these  blessings  are  given, 
to  me,  they  come  to  me,  they  are  provided  for  me.  Not  from 
myself,  not  from  my  powers,  not  from  my  wisdom  do  they 
originate,  any  more  than  the  light  or  the  air  in  the  natural 
world,  the  sphere  of  my  natural  existence,  comes  from  myself 
or  my  own  forethought.  When  the  Church  was  instituted, 
upon  the  day  of  Pentecost,  then  was  it  provided  with  all  these 
sacred  treasures  of  nutriment  and  life  for  the  regenerate  soul. 
Then  began  for  man  that  opportunity  and  power,  that  here  on 
earth  he  could  be  regenerated  by  the  implantation  of  a  spiritual 
organic  life  in  his  soul,  and  that  there  should  exist  for  him  on 
earth  the  kingdom  of  heaven,  the  Church  of  God,  a  sphere 


REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM.  125 

of  existence,  a  new  world,  fnll-charged  with  an  unfailing  sup- 
ply of  all  the  elements  of  nourishment,  spiritual  and  intellect- 
ual, for  that  implanted  life.  As  a  matter  of  faith,  and  as  a 
matter  of  fact,  we  see  that  it  is  so. 

It  is  true  the  mass  of  Christians  in  this  New  World  do  not 
as  yet  comprehend  the  nature  of  the  Church  as  a  Divine  organ- 
ization, Calvin  and  Luther,  men  of  great  genius  and  great 
influence,  predominate,  and  their  ideas  are  most  prevalent. 
But  we  hold  a  Church  to  have  been  organized  at  the  very 
birth  of  the  Gospel,  a  visible  society,  a  sphere  of  life  in  which 
the  regenerate  sons  of  God,  through  Jesus  Christ,  should 
dwell  and  live,  and  that  so  organized  it  is  to  last  for  all  time. 
"We  cite  a  description  from  an  article  written  by  ourself : 

"  The  Church,  as  originally  organized,  was  a  distinct  so- 
ciety in  the  world,  having  two  aspects,  the  natural  and  the 
supernatural,  and  yet  both  equally  true.  In  the  one  it  is  an 
assemblage  of  men,  women,  and  children,  for  public  and 
religious  worship,  its  members  introduced  by  certain  forms, 
having  a  certain  faith,  using  certain  sacred  canonical  books  and 
certain  liturgical  services,  and  then  showing  forth  in  life  and 
conduct  the  results  of  the  principles  so  implanted  and  so 
trained.  This  is  the  aspect  in  which  the  Church  would  be 
looked  upon  by  those  without.  A  true  view,  but  an  imperfect 
one.  The  view,  we  are  sorry  to  say,  which  too  many  ordinary 
Christians  take  of  it. 

"  The  other  aspect  is  wholly  supernatural ;  the  view  which 
the  first  Christians  took,  the  aspect  whence  it  is  viewed  by  the 
eye  of  faith.  It  is  this :  Christ  our  Lord,  the  Word  of  God 
incarnate,  our  Brother  in  the  flesh,  ascended  into  the  highest 
heaven,  there  to  reign  until  the  conflict  of  evil  against  good  is 
ended.  He  instituted  a  kingdom  upon  earth,  His  Church. 
This  is  a  society  that  has  supernatural  powers  to  sustain  it  until 
the  end  of  the  world,  so  that  'the  gates  of  hell  shall  not  pre- 
vail against  it.'  For  its  head  is  Christ,  it  is  the  body  of  Christ, 
so  close  is  the  connection  between  it  and  Him.  He  is  its 
King,  the  Church  is    His  kingdom.      It  is  the  '  temple  of 


126  REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM. 

God,'  and  He  its  Eternal  Priest  and  Prophet.  I^ay,  the 
Holy  Spirit  is  conceived  as  dwelling  in  it,  as  being  as  it  were 
its  vitalizing  and  organizing  spirit,  the  power  of  its  life  by 
which  it  lives ;  that  Spirit  which,  by  His  own  miraculous 
power  called  grace,  unites  each  living  member  to  Christ  our 
Lord.  To  be  within  the  Church  is  to  be  in  a  state  of  grace, 
to  be  without  it  is  to  be  in  the  state  of  nature.  Such  the 
privileges  with  which  the  Church  is  endued ;  such  the  powers 
by  which  she  is  sustained.  And  the  end  is  sure;  the  final 
and  certain  victory  of  the  Church  and  her  Lord  over  Sin, 
Satan,  Death,  and  Hell.  Now,  all  this  implies  that  the  Church 
has  a  distinct  power  of  self-existence ;  a  power  of  self-sustain- 
ing life.  Nay,  that  she  cannot  but  exist  until  her  final  object 
is  accomplished. 

"  This  was  the  view  taken  of  the  nature  of  the  Church  by 
the  primitive  Christians.  This  is  the  Bible  view,  the  way  in 
which  our  Lord  presented  His  Church,  the  aspect  wherein  St. 
Peter  and  St.  Paul,  St.  John  and  St.  James,  and  all  the 
Apostles,  held  it.  And  lastly,  this  is  the  view  in  which  we 
alone,  perhaps,  of  all  denominations  in  this  New  World,  look 
upon  the  Church  of  God."  * 

"We  admit  that  these  are  not  the  ordinary  ideas  among  the 
mass  of  men  outside  the  Church.  They  do  not  conceive  the 
idea  of  a  supernatural  life  implanted  in  the  man ;  they  must 
have  something  tangible  and  visible.  An  organic  life,  hidden 
in  the  being,  originating  with  our  unseen  Saviour  and  the 
invisible  Spirit,  and  manifesting  itself  only  in  its  efiects,  the 
Christian  life  and  Christian  graces,  is  not  striking  enough,  not 
exciting  enough,  not  glaring  enough  for  the  most  of  men. 
They  have  not  faith,  "the  evidence  of  things  unseen,"  to 
view  a  calm,  solemn  baptismal  covenant  and  sacrament,  and 
to  say,  "  Herein,  since  God  has  promised  it,  is  regeneration 
wrought  out,  and  the  new  life  implanted,  by  the  power  of  the 
Holy  Spirit."  This  they  cannot  believe,  even  if  true  faith 
be  in  the  person  baptized,  true  sorrow  for  his  past  sins,  true 
*  "  Cliurch  Review,"  July,  1859,  pp.  213,  213.    , 


REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM.  127 

spiritual  influences,  all  that  in  their  own  mind  goes  to  make  up 
regeneration. 

Nor  can  they  conceive  the  idea  of  an  Apostolic  and  Cath- 
olic Church.  The  very  idea  of  a  Church,  organized  on  the 
day  of  Pentecost,  lasting  to  the  end  of  the  world,  "  against 
which  the  gates  of  hell  cannot  prevail "  ;  *  this  idea  has  perished 
from  the  popular  mind,  men  do  not  comprehend  it.  No  won- 
der that  the  doctrine  of  regeneration  is  so  confused,  when  the 
two  facts  upon  which  it  depends,  the  doctrine  and  fact  of  a 
new  life  and  of  a  Catholic  Church,  are  denied,  doubted,  not  even 
understood  in  their  terms  by  the  mass  of  men  that  call  them- 
selves Christians. 

We  admit,  as  we  have  said,  that  these  ideas  of  regeneration 
— that  it  is  an  organic  spiritual  life,  breathed  into  the  being  of 
man  by  the  Spirit  of  God,  and  dwelling  permanently  in  it  as 
the  natural  life  does,  and  also  that  the  visible  Church  of  God 
is  its  sphere — are  doctrines  almost  forgotten  ;  slidden,  as  it  were, 
out  of  the  memory  of  the  mass  of  Christians,  and  therefore, 
perhaps,  looking  strange  to  them.  This,  however,  is  most 
certainly  the  doctrine  of  the  Prayer  Book,  the  doctrine,  we 
say,  also,  of  the  New  Testament.  And  we  expect  to  show  it 
clearly  so  to  be.  Nevertheless,  feeling  as  we  do  at  the  present 
time,  that  one  of  the  main  faults  of  this  age  is  that  when  any 
one  brings  up  a  truth  authoritative  and  obligatory,  that  has 
been  partly  forgotten,  men  cry  out,  "  innovation  !  "  "  novelty !  " 
"  strange  new  doctrine !  "  we  shall  just  bring  up  the  opinion 
of  a  very  able  and  very  influential  bishop  of  the  English 
Chm'ch,  Dr.  Davenant,  Bishop  of  Salisbury  (a.d.  1621) : 

"  As  to  the  term  '  born  again,'  or  '  regenerate,'  I  do  not 
consider  every  one  '  born  again '  who  may  chance  to  be  en- 
lightened by  some  ray,  or  breathed  upon  by  some  motion  of 
the  Holy  Spirit.  But  him  only  who  is  already  raised  up  from 
the  death  of  sin  and  is  made  alive  hy  the  most  omnipotent 
[omnipotentissimd  in  the  Latin  original)  operation  of  the 
same  Spirit.  On  the  other  hand,  I  call  him  not  regenerate 
*  St.  Matt.  xvi.  18. 


128  REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM. 

who  has  not  yet  arrived  at  this  spiritual  vivijication,  howso- 
ever he  may  have  been  affected  by  some  prevenient  operations 
of  the  Holy  Spirit. 

"  But  here  we  must  carefully  attend  to  the  fact  that  the 
word  regeneration  either  denotes  the  very  first  creative  act, 
by  which  the  spiritual  life  is  infused  into  the  person,  and 
which,  therefore,  is  the  worTc  of  a  moment.  Or  else  it  signifies 
the  continued  operation  of  the  Spirit  by  which  the  new  powers 
and  qualities  breathed  into  the  man,  along  with  this  new  life, 
are  cherished  and  strengthened,  and  it  (the  life)  is  hrought  to 
maturity,  not  without  the  endeavors  and  strugglings  of  the 
regenerate  man  himself."  * 

How  different  this  from  all  the  notions  of  the  present  day. 
Here  are  all  the  facts  we  have  been  urging  as  belonging  to  the 
idea  of  a  new  birth,  an  organic  life,  breathed  into  the  man  as 
a  new  element  of  his  being  by  the  power  of  the  Holy  Spirit, 
with  new  strength  and  new  ability,  a  miraculous  creation  of 
spiritual  life  in  him.  These  ideas,  we  believe,  are  strange  to 
the  ordinary  Christians  of  this  present  day.  This  passage 
being  in  so  ancient  and  so  prominent  a  writer  of  the  English 
Church  as  the  Bishop  of  Salisbury,  Divinity  Professor  in 
Cambridge,  proves,  we  trust,  that  they  are  no  novelties. 

And  that  simultaneously  with  this  new  life  we  are  brought 
within  the  Church,  needs  no  citation  from  the  divines  of  the 
English  Church,  or  of  any  other.  It  needs  only  the  plain 
words  of  the  Scripture :  "  By  one  Spirit  are  we  all  haptized 
into  one  hody,  whether  we  be  Jews  or  Greeks,  whether  we 
be  bond  or  free,  and  ha/ve  heen  all  made  to  drinh  into  one 
Spirit. ''^  t 

*  Davenant's    "  Determinations "  (translated  from  the   original   Latin), 
Question  9. 

f  I.  Cor.  xii.  13. 


CHAPTER  II. 

We  admit,  as  we  have  said,  that  the  sense  we  have  given 
of  the  word  life  is,  to  the  ordinary  mass  of  Christians,  one 
very  nnusuaL  The  "life  of  Christ  "  they  generally  think  to 
mean  merely  a  Christian  way  of  living.  Having  lost  the  idea 
of  a  Church  actually  existing  upon  the  earth,  they  have  lost 
also  the  grand  Christian  idea  of  an  organic  vital  principle  im- 
planted in  the  man,  and  raising  him  up  from  the  death  of  sin.* 
Therefore,  they  have  confused  regeneration  with  conversion, 
and  so  gone  back  to  the  level  of  the  Jewish  dispensation. 

For  conversion,  the  work  of  true  repentance  and  true  faith, 
is  everywhere  to  be  seen  in  the  Old  Testament.  Men  are, 
throughout  that  dispensation,  called  unto  both,  most  frequently 
and  most  fervently.  The  glories  of  a  true  faith  in  the  living 
and  unseen  God  are  as  manifest  in  the  Old  Testament  as  in 
the  'New.  And  the  preciousness  before  God  of  a  sincere  sor- 
row for  sin  is  just  as  evident.  And  conversion,  the  fruit  of 
both,  is  as  fully  attributed  to  God's  Spirit  in  the  Old  Testa- 
ment as  in  the  New.  As  one  example  out  of  multitudes  that 
might  be  cited,  we  quote  one  passage  from  the  Psalms  : 

"Hide  Thy  face  from  my  sins,  and  blot  out  all  mine  in- 
iquities. Create  in  me  a  clean  heart,  O  God ;  and  renew  a 
right  spirit  within  me.  Cast  me  not  away  from  Thy  presence ; 
and  take  not  Thy  Holy  Spirit  from  me.  Restore  unto  me 
the  joy  of  Thy  salvation  ;  and  uphold  me  with  Thy  free  spirit. 
Then  will  I  teach  transgressors  Thy  ways ;  and  sinners  shall  be 
convet'ted  unto  Thee."t 

*  "  For  ye  are  dead,  and  your  life  is  hid  with  Christ  in  God." — Col.  iii,  3. 
f  Psalm  li.  9-13. 

9 


130  REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM. 

Is  it  not  evident  that  the  full  conception  of  a  true  conversion 
is  here,  in  all  its  parts  of  a  sincere  repentance,  a  living  faith,  a 
pure  heart,  all  wrought  in  the  man  by  the  Holy  Spirit,  his 
own  spirit  receiving  and  accepting  willingly  of  the  Grace  of 
God  ?     Certainly  it  is. 

And  is  not  this  all  that  regeneration  is,  according  to  the 
orthodox  of  the  present  day  ?  Certainly  it  is.  With  them 
regeneration  is  wholly  identical  with  conversion.  Why,  then, 
should  Christ  become  incarnate  and  die  ?  why  should 
He  enter  into  the  world,  if  the  highest  and  most  glori- 
ous privilege  of  the  Gospel  was  fully  and  completely  given 
under  the  Law  ? 

Why  is  it  that  in  the  Old  Testament,  while  the  idea  of 
conversion  in  all  its  fulness  is  perpetually  coming  up,  the  idea 
and  the  plirase  of  "  regeneration,"  or  "  being  born  of  God," 
never  occurs?  Surely  the  reason  for  this  is,  and  must  be,  that 
only  since  our  Blessed  Lord  came  upon  the  earth  and  became 
man,  only  because  of  Him  and  His  incarnation,  can  man  be- 
come a  son  of  God  by  spiritual  regeneration.  And  regenera- 
tion is  not  conversion,  but  something  higher  and  greater ;  a 
grand  and  glorious  privilege  to  w^hich,  as  Cliristians,  we  have 
access  since  our  Lord's  birth.  His  sacrifice  upon  Calvary,  and 
His  ascension.  "  These  all,"  says  the  apostle,  of  the  dead 
saints  of  the  Old  Testament,  "  having  obtained  a  good  report 
through  faith,  received  not  the  promise  :  God  having  provided 
a  certain  greater  privilege  (thing)  for  us,  that  they  apart  from 
us  should  not  be  made  perfect."*  Is  it  not  manifest,  then,  that 
they  who  assert  that  conversion  is  regeneration,  reduce  tlie 
Christian  dispensation  to  the  level  of  the  Jewish,  since  they 
must  assert  that  before  Christ's  advent  just  as  great  privileges 
and  blessings  were  enjoyed  by  the  members  of  the  covenant. 

More  than  this  they  do.     As  the  deist,  by  asserting  the  fact 

of  a  Being  of  infinite  power,  who  rnade  the  world,  substitutes 

this  great  and  true  but  utterly  inadequate  idea  for  the  Christian 

conception  of  God  the  Father  Almighty,  and  thereby  wholly 

*  Heb.  xi.  39,40. 


REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM.  131 

puts  this  last  truth  out  of  the  minds  of  men  and  destroys  it,  so 
these  men  do  with  the  grand  idea  of  regeneration.  An  actual 
sonship,  a  reality  in  any  adequate  and  true  sense  is  put  away  by 
them  from  the  consciousness  and  thought  of  the  ordinary  Chris- 
tianity, by  substituting  for  it  another  fact  and  truth,  of  Jewish 
revelation,  which,  however  great  and  blessed,  is  merely  pre- 
paratory. And  so  the  indwelling  life,  the  organic  vitality  of 
Christ  our  Lord  in  His  disciples,  is  forgotten  and  put  aside ;  re- 
duced from  a  fact  to  a  strong  and  fervid  metaphor.  And  this, 
although  our  Saviour  and  His  apostles  state  it  in  language  the 
most  precise,  although  they  assign  its  causes  and  specify  its 
effects  in  the  most  clear  and  calm  unexaggerated  way  that  can 
be  conceived. 

And  then,  when  we  merely  assert  the  perpetual  privilege  of 
sonship  and  new  birth  through  Christ  as  distinct  from  the 
privileges  of  the  Mosaic  law,  and  as  given  us  by  our  Lord  in 
the  way  that  He  has  appointed,  we  are  met  with  downright 
abuse,  and  sometimes  even  with  ribaldry  and  blasphemy,  from 
men  that  think  themselves  truly  religious. 

And  yet,  when  we  assert  and  preach,  as  we  do,  conversion 
in  its  full  sense  of  a  true  repentance  from  sin  and  a  living  faith 
in  God,  as  a  preparation  for  regeneration,  but  as  not  ieing 
regeneration  itself,  do  we  not  place  the  highest  gift  that  was 
given  to  those  under  the  Old  Law  in  its  proper  position  under 
the  New,  as  a  preparation  only  for  the  new  birth,  as  the  initial 
qualification  for  entrance  within  the  covenant  of  Christ  ?  Do 
we  not  say  with  Christ  our  Lord,  "  Except  ye  be  converted,  and 
become  as  little  children,  ye  shall  not  enter  into  the  kingdom 
of  heaven."* 

And  again,  when  we  assert  that  the  new  birth  is  more  than 
conversion,  a  privilege,  supernatural,  of  true  sonship  unto  God, 
given  to  the  man  as  God  has  appointed  it,  do  we  not  thereby 
assert  that  Christ  has  "  actually  come  in  the  flesh,"  that  now 
as  man  He  lives  and  reigns,  that  His  kingdom  really  exists  here, 
that  His  Spirit  here  in  this  world  of  time  and  space  truly 
*  St.  Matt,  xviii.  3. 


132  REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM. 

effects  in  us  the  one  regeneration,  the  new  birth  that  He 
promised  ?  "  As  many  as  received  Him,  to  them  gave  He  the 
power  to  become  the  sons  of  God,  even  to  them  that  believe 
in  His  name."  * 

These  views  are  remarkably  confirmed  by  our  Lord's  con- 
versation with  I^icodemus.  "  He  came  to  Jesus  by  night," 
acknowledging  that  He  was  a  teacher  come  from  God  ;  and 
then,  when  our  Lord  announced  to  him  that  "  except  a  man 
be  born  again,  he  cannot  see  the  kingdom  of  God,"  he  in- 
quired, manifestly  in  reference  to  his  owm  case :  "  How  can  a 
man  be  born  again  when  he  is  old  ?  Can  he  enter  the  second 
time  into  his  mother's  womb  and  be  born  ?  "  His  inquiry  as 
to  the  manner  and  possibility  of  the  new  birth,  and  the  sim- 
plicity of  thought  in  the  second  clause,  manifestly  shows  that  an 
idea  wholly  new  to  his  thought  was  then  presented  to  him  for 
the  first  time.  The  idea  of  a  kingdom  of  God  upon  the  earth, 
and  of  a  new  birth  into  it ;  of  regeneration  ;  of  man's  being  in 
this  world  the  son  of  God ;  of  the  Spirit  and  its  indwelling 
life  in  man, — all  these  components  of  the  Christian  idea  were 
not  upon  the  surface  of  the  Old  Testament — were  not  familiar 
to  him,  and,  therefore,  he  marvelled.  The  very  idea  was 
marvellous  or  wonderful  to  him.  It  was  manifestly  not  the 
idea  of  conversion,  with  which  the  Master  of  Israel,  the  grave 
and  sincerely  religious,  if  somewhat  timorous  Rabbi,  was  fully 
acquainted,  upon  the  pages  of  the  Law,  the  Holy  Books,  and 
the  Prophets,  that  was  then  presented  to  him.  The  idea  of  con- 
version is  a  distasteful  and  unpalatable  idea,  but  by  no  means 
can  be  considered  mysterious  or  marvellous.  It  was  that  other 
idea  of  new  birth,  unknown  to  the  older  dispensation,  the 
precious  and  unspeakable  gift  of  God  through  Christ  to  the 
children  of  the  new  covenant. 

This,  for  the  first  time  presented  to  his  mind,  caused  him 
to  marvel. 

And  the  explanation  then  given  is  not  such  as  is  given  in 
Calvinistic  commentators — "  that  it  is  nothing  but  what  He 
*  St.  Jolin,  i.  12. 


REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM.  133 

said  before."*  But,  with  a  solemn  asseveration,  Christ 
declares :  "  Yerily,  verily,  I  say  unto  thee,  excej)t  a  man  be 
born  of  water  and  the  Spirit,  he  cannot  enter  into  the  king- 
dom of  God."  An  explanation  of  the  instrumentality  of  the 
new  birth,  which  again  calls  forth  his  wonder — "How  can 
these  things  be  ?  "  In  reply  to  this  our  Lord  does  not  bring 
forth  to  him  the  doctrine  of  conversion  so  plainly  explainable, 
and  so  applicable  as  they  say  it  is,  but  speaks  to  him  in  a 
solemn  and  mysterious  way  of  allusion  to  His  own  death, — 
"  As  Moses  lifted  up  the  serpent  in  the  wilderness,  even  so 
must  the  son  of  man  be  lifted  up," — of  His  ascension  into 
heaven, — His  coming  down  from  heaven  ;  all  which  things,  con- 
sidering that  they  had  received  no  explanation  then  from  His 
life  and  teachings,  His  death  and  resurrection,  must  have  been 
full  of  the  deepest  mystery  to  Nicodemus. 

In  fact,  the  great  idea  in  that  reply,  extending  over  twelve 
verses,  is  that  He  himself,  "the  Son  of  Man  which  is  in 
heaven,"  is  the  "only  begotten  Son  of  God"  (three  times  this 
title,  in  those  few  verses,  is  asserted  of  Himself),  that  in  Him 
is  eternal  life  for  those  who  believe  in  Him  (twice  is  this  as- 
serted), that  in  Him  is  freedom  from  condemnation,  in  Him  is 
the  light  and  the  life.  All  these  assertions,  at  a  future  period, 
would  be  to  Nicodemus  truths  full  of  glory,  when  shone  upon 
by  the  facts  of  the  death  and  resurrection  of  our  Lord,  the 
teaching  of  the  great  forty  daj^s,  and  His  ascension  to  the  right 
hand  of  the  Father.  But,  considering  that  they  were  made  by 
Jesus  at  the  very  beginning  of  His  career,  and  that  Nicodemus 
thought  of  Him  simply  as  a  Divine  teacher,  they  must  have 
been  most  deeply  mysterious,  in  fact,  incomprehensible,  at  that 
time  to  him.  And  certainly  they  cannot  be  looked  upon  as 
giving  in  any  way  the  explanation  that  the  birth  of  water  and 
the  Spirit  is  nothing  but  conversion. 

Most  undoubtedly  they  do  assert  the  fact  that  our  Lord  is 
the  "  only  begotten  Son  of  God,"  that  in  Him  is  the  gift  of 
eternal  Kfe  to  those  who  profess  His  name,  and  that  He  is  sent 
*  Matthew  Henry's  comment  on  the  verse. 


134  REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM. 

into  the  world  for  that  purpose.  Of  life  for  man,  through  the 
eternal  and  "  only  begotten  Son  of  God,"  who  is  also  the  Son 
of  Man,  the  whole  discourse  is  full ;  mysteriously,  awfully,  in- 
comprehensibly full,  at  that  time,  to  the  Jewish  master  in 
Israel.  He  could  not  interpret  them — of  conversion,  or  of  any- 
thing else  than  that  this  new  teacher  came  from  God,  and 
claimed  that  He  was  the  "  only  begotten  Son  of  God,"  being 
at  the  same  time  a  man,  and  that  in  Him  is  everlasting  life  for 
all  who  should  become  His  disciples.  And  that  this  is  the 
new  birth, — this  believing  in  Him,  this  receiving  from  Him  of 
eternal  life  in  the  way  that  He  should  appoint. 

The  word  life,  as  we  have  said,  in  common  language,  and 
even  in  the  Scripture  itself,  is  employed  in  two  very  different 
senses.  The  first  is  that  in  which  it  is  connected  with  bap- 
tism, the  sense  of  a  vital  principle,  a  constituent  force,  which 
sustains  the  organization,  the  life  or  vital  power  in  beings  that 
are  organized  and  live.  This  we  have  sufficiently  illustrated 
in  the  last  chapter.  And  this  is  what  we  understand  to  be  as- 
serted in  the  Scriptures  of  our  new  birth,  that,  as  there  is  an 
animal  or  sensuous  life  in  man  by  nature,  and  an  intellectual 
life  also,  so  from  God  is  given  to  man,  by  the  Spirit,  a  spirit- 
ual life,  a  vital  and  living  principle,  which,  dwelling  in  him,  as 
the  life  of  Christ,  is  the  root  and  source  of  spiritual  growth 
and  progress.  This  idea,  together  with  that  of  a  Catholic 
Church  in  the  world,  is  the  fundamental  idea,  the  very  basis  of 
the  doctrine  of  the  new  birth.  As  the  life  is  in  the  infant  at 
its  birth  derived  from  its  earthly  father  and  mother,  and  is  the 
root  and  cause  of  its  growth,  being  nourished  in  manifold 
ways,  through  a  wonderful  complexity  of  organs,  so,  in  the 
child  of  God,  unseen  of  men  (as  being  properly  an  object  of 
faith),  is  the  spiritual  principle  of  a  new  life,  the  life  of  Christ, 
implanted  and  indwelling. 

The  second  sense  of  the  word,  as  we  have  said,  is  that 
which  signifies  a  mode  and  manner  of  living.  In  this  sense 
we  ordinarily  speak  of  such  a  man  leading  a  Christian  life, 
implying  that  his  mode  of  living  is  under  the  law  and  guided 


REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM.  135 

bj  the  principles  of  Christianity.  And  in  this  sense  we  often 
use,  even  apart  from  the  Gospel,  the  phrase  "anew  life." 
For  instance,  that  a  drunkard  should  leave  off  drunkenness, 
and  become  habitually  a  sober  man,  we  say  it  is  to  him  a  new 
life.  This  second  sense  is  the  favorite  with  the  religionists  of 
the  day.  They  cannot  conceive  of  a  life  that  is  hidden,  that 
does  not  manifest  itself,  that  may  be  in  infants  or  in  persons 
of  a  quiet  and  undemonstrative  Christian  temper,  that  may 
continue  to  exist  even  in  the  vile,  the  irreligious,  and  the  rep- 
robate for  years,  unseen  of  man,  perhaps  smothered  in  wilful 
sin,  or  oppressed  with  vice,  and  yet  working  and  struggling  in 
the  man's  inmost  being  as  a  living  power.  All  this  they  can- 
not comprehend.  In  fact,  the  idea  is  a  strange  and  unfamiliar 
one  to  the  mass  of  professing  Christians.  But,  to  show  how 
familiar  it  is  to  us  in  the  Church,  we  cite  from  one  of  the 
earliest  writers  upon  the  Articles  of  the  English  Church, 
Thomas  Rogers,  chaplain  to  Archbishop  Bancroft,  nearly  three 
hundred  years  ago. 

"  The  regenerate,"  he  says,  "  have  in  them  a  double  life  ; 
the  one  carnal,  the  other  spiritual. 

"  The  life  carnal  and  temporary  they  brought  with  them 
into  this  world ;  the  spiritual  life  was  given  unto  them  after- 
ward, in  their  second  birth,  through  the  Word. 

"  The  life  carnal  and  corporal  is  common  to  all  men,  good 
and  bad,  and  is  maintained  and  preserved  by  earthly  and  cor- 
ruptible bread,  common  also  to  all  and  every  man.  The  life 
spiritual  is  peculiar  only  to  God's  elect,  and  is  cherished  by 
'  the  bread  of  life,  which  came  down  from  heaven,'  which  is 
Jesus  Christ,  who  nourisheth  and  sustaineth  the  spiritual  life 
of  Christians,  being  received  of  them  by  faith."  * 

Also  in  Bishop  Pearson  on  the  Creed,  in  the  article  upon 
eternal  life,  we  have  it  laid  down  that  "life  eternal"  is  of 
three  kinds :  "  life  initial,"  "life  partial,"  and  " life  perfectional." 
Life  eternal  initial,  is  that  which  is  given  to  the  regenerate  in 
this  world ;  life  partial  belongs  to  the  saints  that  are  dead,  in 
*  Kogers  on  the  Articles,  a.d.  1586.    Reprinted  1607. 


136  REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM. 

the  state  of  the  departed,  their  bodies  being  dead,  and  their 
souls,  a  part  only  of  the  man,  alive ;  life  perfectional  belong- 
ing to  the  bodies  and  souls  of  the  saints,  after  the  resur- 
rection and  the  judgment.  So  that  eternal  life,  according  to 
Bishop  Pearson,  is  received  and  possessed  by  the  sons  of  God, 
during  their  human  life  in  this  world.  The  ordinary  idea,  we 
need  hardly  say,  of  eternal  life,  is  that  of  a  continuous  and 
unlimited  happy  state  of  being  of  the  good,  conferred  upon 
them  after  death.  That  in  this  world  there  is  in  the  possession 
of  any  one  the  gift  of  eternal  life,  is  never  even  dreamed  of  or 
imagined.  And  yet,  no  doubt  this  is  the  plain  truth  of  Holy 
Writ.     "  Ye  have  {^X^tb,  are  in  possession  of)  eternal  life."  * 

In  order  to  understand  this  subject  fully,  it  will  be  neces- 
sary to  consider  the  incarnate  Word,  and  the  Spirit  of  the 
Father  and  the  Son,  in  their  relations  to  man  upon  the  earth. 
The  first  is  the  Prince  of  Life,  "  the  Archegos  (in  the  original) 
of  life," — not  merely  prince,  but  originator  and  beginner,  as 
well  as  chief  leader  and  prince  of  life  to  man.  The  second  is 
the  Zoopoios  of  the  Nicene  Creed,  "  the  Giver  and  Imparter  of 
life,"  He  by  whose  immediate  supernatural  agency  upon  the 
earth,  obtained  from  the  Father  for  His  brethren,  by  Christ  is 
imparted  to  man.  Only  by  understanding  what  the  Son  of 
God  and  the  Spirit  have  done  and  now  do  for  us,  can  the  gift 
of  life  eternal,  in  this  world,  be  comprehended. 

And  first,  in  regard  to  our  Most  Blessed  Lord,  His  position 
to  the  race,  and  to  each  individual  man  in  the  Church,  may 
be  understood,  perhaps,  most  fully,  by  a  remarkable  passage  in 
that  great  chapter  in  the  Corinthians  upon  the  resurrection  of 
the  body :  "  And  so  it  is  written,  the  first  man  Adam  was 
made  a  livmg  soul;  the  last  Adam  was  made  a  life-giving 
spirit."  f 

All  men  are  familiar  with  the  idea  that  the  whole  human 
race  came  from  one  man  and  one  woman.     In  fact,  this  idea  is 
both  the  most  natural  and  the  most  humane.     Men  are  con- 
ducted toward  it  by  so  many  various  avenues  of  reason  and 
*  I.  John,  V.  13.  t  I.  Cor.  xv.  45. 


REGENERATION  IN  BAPTIS3L  137 

science,  pliilantliropic  sentiment,  history  and  tradition,  that  it 
always  has  been,  always  will  be,  the  one  predominant  theory 
of  the  origin  of  our  race,  that  they  came  from  a  single  pair. 
And  the  Scriptures  of  the  Old  and  New  Testaments  are 
equally  pledged  to  it,  with  the  universal  tradition  of  all  races. 
"  God  hath  made  of  one  blood  all  nations,  for  to  dwell  upon 
the  face  of  the  whole  earth,"  the  apostle  says,  uncontradicted? 
to  the  Athenian  philosophers  in  the  Areopagus. 

Adam  was  the  first  forefather  of  our  race.  From  him,  on 
the  mountain  plateaux  of  Asia,  where  was  placed  the  antedilu- 
vian Paradise,  all  the  races  of  men  descended.  Nor  is  there  a 
variety  in  color,  or  form,  or  stature,  which  cannot  be  accounted 
for  by  the  influence,  for  many  generations,  of  climate,  or  food, 
or  education,  or  national  habits,  or  religion,  or  legislation. 
Endless  flexibility  and  power  of  adaptation,  and  the  most  ex- 
traordinary tenacity  and  unchangeableness  exist  together  in 
man,  governed  by  laws  not  yet  fully  understood,  which  are 
strangely  complicated,  and,  it  would  seem,  in  many  cases  most 
strangely  fantastic.  The  triple  combination  of  body,  soul,  and 
spirit,  exists  in  each  man  of  every  nation.  The  many  faculties 
and  powers  which,  by  due  analysis,  are  in  any  one  man's  mind, 
exist  in  the  mind  of  every  other  man,  of  every  other  race. 
All  limbs  and  parts  and  organs  that  constitute  the  bodily 
frame  of  one  man,  are  in  the  frames  of  all.  Nor  is  tliere  an 
emotion,  an  afliection,  or  a  natural  feeling  which,  in  degrees 
more  or  less  strong,  is  not  common  to  all  hearts.  All  men  are 
the  same,  all  w^omen  are  the  same,  over  the  world,  in  all 
elements  and  powers  and  faculties  and  organs  that  go  to 
make  up  the  constitution  of  the  human  being.  The  variation 
of  the  nation,  the  tribe,  and  the  family,  showing  itself  in  the 
individual,  is  the  only  difi'erence  there  is  among  them.  And 
thus  are  men,  like  leaves  upon  an  oak,  all  similar,  and  yet  none 
perfectly  the  same ;  to  each  his  own  individual  existence  and 
character,  and  yet  all  springing  from  the  same  root  and  trunk. 
What  were  the  qualities,  therefore,  what  the  position,  accord- 
ing to  Holy  Writ,  of  that  first  man,  of  whom  the  whole  earth 


138  REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM. 

was  overspread?  No  feeble,  ignorant,  and  miserable  savage 
was  he,  wretched  and  barbarous  in  himself,  and  crushed  beneath 
a  hostile  nature,  oppressed  alike  and  enslaved  by  the  darkness 
and  cold  of  the  Arctic  regions  and  the  burning  heats  of  the 
Equator. 

This  is  not  the  Scriptural  idea  of  the  first  man,  only  the 
tradition  of  modern  sectism.  He  was,  according  to  the  Bible, 
a  glorious  being,  fresh  from  the  hands  of  his  God.  A  perfect 
man,  existing  in  a  perfect  world,  without  sin,  unfallen  and  up- 
right before  God.  The  idea  that  man  originally  was  a  mere 
anthropoid  animal,  a  hnman  beast,  without  language,  without 
morality,  or  decency,  or  cleanliness,  standing  outside  of  society, 
is  simply  unhistoric  and  unscientific.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  no 
such  men,  socially  or  nationally,  were  ever  found  in  existence. 
There  are  none  such  at  present.  None  such  have  ever  existed 
in  the  world.  In  days  of  old  the  idea  of  the  "  mutum  et  turpe 
pecus  "  was  a  philosophic  myth.  It  sprang  from  the  Epicurean 
theories  of  the  nature  of  God  and  the  world  and  man,  wholly 
unsupported,  at  that  time,  by  fact  or  by  history.  The  same 
theoretic  notions  are  the  basis  of  the  same  conclusions  in 
modern  days.  Men  who  would  laugh  to  scorn  the  idea  of  an 
ape  with  language  and  laws,  clothing  and  fire,  and  demand  at 
once  facts  and  evidence, — when  they  come  to  discuss  the  origin 
of  man,  theorize,  and  suppose  that  in  millions  of  years  the  ape 
could  learn  to  talk, — and  then,  to  help  their  theory,  they  take 
the  millions  of  years  they  require,  of  ape-existence  and  unre- 
corded ape-history  for  granted,  as  a  fact.  But  the  most  ancient 
history  that  we  have  of  Europe  and  Asia  shows  us,  as  a  fact,  no 
such  period  of  man's  existence.  Nineveh  and  Babylon  and 
Damascus,  the  most  ancient  cities  of  the  world ;  Mesopotamia, 
Egypt  and  Ethiopia,  China  and  Persia  and  Hindostan,  bear 
historic  evidence  of  mighty  nations,  great  in  wars,  in  laws  and 
literature ;  but  none,  of  the  existence,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  of  tlie 
Epicurean  or  Darwinite  man-brute. 

In  nations,  of  course,  as  in  men,  the  type  of  man  is  con- 
stantly either  rising  or  falling,  it  is  in  a  perpetual  ebb  or  flow. 


REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM.  139 

There  is  no  unchanging  status,  no  dead  level  for  any  man  in 
morality.  He  is  always  becoming  either  better  or  worse.  So 
it  is  with  nations.  In  morals,  in  intellect,  and  in  type  of  body, 
the  nation  is  always  either  rising  or  falling,  never  permanent. 
Advance  and  progress  in  type,  or,  just  as  often,  degradation 
and  debasement,  is  perpetually  going  on.  And  it  is  far  easier 
to  speculate  and  theorize  than  to  observe  and  deduce,  to  suppose 
uniform  advance  from  the  basest  type  in  millions  of  years 
than  to  look  at  the  variations  for  centuries — the  risings  and 
fallings,  the  ebb  and  flow  of  humanity  in  actual  existence. 
Therefore  we  have  these  three  theories:  First,  of  uniform  pro- 
gress and  perpetual  advance ;  second,  of  millions  of  years  of 
continuous  existence  in  organisms;  and,  third,  of  changes  of 
one  form  and  type  into  another,  wholly  superior.  Of  these 
there  is  no  clear  and  definite  evidence,  as  a  matter  of  recorded 
fact  and  experimental  knowledge,  only  philosophic  suppositions 
that  it  may  be  so. 

But,  as  we  have  said,  the  Scripture  represents  the  first  man 
as  a  perfect  being,  in  a  perfect  world.  Nature  to  him  is  not 
an  enemy  to  be  wrestled  with,  and  half  conquered,  to  conquer 
him  at  last.  Ko  harsh  stepmother  is  she,  crushing  and  oppress- 
ing him ;  but  bounteous  and  overflowing  with  all  blessings, 
ever  kind  and  gracious,  as  a  sister  that  is  also  a  nurse,  elder- 
born  from  the  same  father.  And  man  is  not  represented  as  a 
mere  child,  a  subject,  or  a  creature  of  the  natural  world,  but 
as  its  lord  and  king,  the  sovereign  of  all  its  realms,  the  ruler  ot 
all  its  created  beings,  lord  of  this  earth  and  vicegerent  of  God 
upon  it,  Adam  (ha- Adam,  the  man),  the  son  of  God.  It  is  not 
a  warfare  that  he  wages  with  hostile  forces,  their  very  nature 
to  him  unknown,  only  to  be  guessed  at  and  understood  partially, 
after  ages  of  his  best  thought ;  but  a  dominion  that  he  possesses 
over  familiar  servants,  well  understood,  kindly  and  perfectly 
obedient.  It  is  not  for  him  a  perpetual  strife  and  struggle  with 
the  beasts  of  the  field,  the  birds  of  the  air  and  the  fishes  of  the 
sea,  with  only  the  alliance  of  two  or  three  domestic  animals, 
half  bent  to  his  will,  half  understanding  his  behests ;  but  a  per- 


140  REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM. 

feet  rule  and  dominion  over  all  living  beings  that  belongs  to 
the  first  born  man,  the  sovereign  of  this  world.  The  Christian 
tradition  considers  Adam  as  being  to  this  world  the  natural 
lord  and  ruler  of  it,  as  it  looks  upon  the  Eternal  Son,  the  only- 
begotten  of  the  Father,  as  the  lord  and  ruler  of  the  universe. 
As  God  the  Word,  to  eternity  and  immensity,  the  infinite  and 
all  its  realms,  so  man,  the  son  of  God,  to  this  world  of  time 
and  space.  God  the  Word— and  heaven— and  the  universe— man 
made  in  his  image — and  paradise — and  the  outer  world  of  this 
earth, — these  are  parallel  and  cognate  ideas  and  facts  in  Holy 
Writ. 

But  we  anticipate.  We  return  to  the  gifts  of  the  first  man. 
For  him  there  was  no  death,  no  disease,  no  decay.  The  Script- 
ures of  both  the  Old  and  New  Testaments  assert  in  the  plainest 
terms  that  man  was  created  immortal,  that  death  was  to  him 
no  natural  fact,  no  law  of  his  being  which  must  ensue  by  natural 
causes  inevitably  in  the  course  of  his  existence.  This  doctrine 
of  the  natural  immortality  of  man  evidently  separates  him  from 
the  whole  animal  creation,  and  exalts  him  above  them  by  an 
essential  difference  of  his  nature.  It  has  always  been  decried 
as  a  manifest  absurdity  by  Pelagians  and  Socinians,  and  yet  we 
think  that  modern  science  is  by  no  means  hostile  to  the  Chris- 
tian idea.  In  fact,  the  possibility  of  a  perpetual  life  to  man, 
by  the  perpetual  restoration  and  repair  of  the  physical  frame 
of  man,  is  not  an  idea,  by  any  means,  unknown  to  scientific 
men. 

And  this  seems  to  be  the  Mosaic  idea, — that  man's  immor- 
tality in  Paradise  was  a  freedom  from  death,  pei'petually  main- 
tained in  him,  by  the  perpetual,  voluntary,  and  rational  use  of 
the  means  for  that  purpose  ap]3ointed,  and  existing  externally 
to  him.  Hence  comes  the  famous  distinction  between  the  im- 
mortality of  Adam  in  Paradise  and  that  of  man,  after  the 
resurrection,  that  "  he  was  able  not  to  die^''  and  "  we  shall  not 
be  ahle  to  die."  Hence  is  man's  immortality  connected  with 
the  world  of  which  he  is  yet  the  lord.  His  food  is  of  the  herb 
of  the  field,  and  of  every  tree  bringing  forth  fruit,  and  among 


REGENERATION  IN  BAPTIS3T.  141 

tliem  is  "  the  Tree  of  Life  in  the  midst  of  the  Garden,"  the 
sacrament  of  immortality,  the  perpetual  means  of  grace 
whereby  his  physical  frame  remained  undecaying,  constantly 
renewed,  perpetually  suj)plied  with  new  vigor  and  new  life.* 

Here,  then,  we  have  completed  for  us  the  idea  of  the  pri- 
meval man,  as  a  being  perfect  in  all  his  powers  and  faculties, 
existing  in  a  perfect  world,  immortal,  freed  by  the  gifts  of  God 
from  decay  and  disease,  lord  of  the  external  world  and  of  all 
its  inhabitants  and  powers.  And  therefore,  in  all  these  ways, 
and  because  of  all  these  endowments  and  gifts,  external  and 
internal,  greater  and  happier,  and  more  loftily  endowed  than 
any  of  his  descendants.  And  Paradise  lay  all  around  him,  a 
happy  and  a  perfect  state  and  sphere  of  being. 

Is  not  this  doctrine  of  the  Scripture,  as  to  man's  primeval 
state,  confirmed  by  the  lingering  traditions  of  all  men  of  all 
races  ?  Have  we  not  among  them  all  the  memory  of  the  per- 
fect man,  glorious  and  immortal,  lord  of  the  material  world  ? 
The  Hindoo,  the  Greek,  the  Scandinavian,  even  the  wild  Indian 
of  our  western  prairies,  and  the  wandering  Malay  of  the  Indian 
seas, — does  there  not  rest  upon  them  all  the  faint  memory  of 
the  golden  age,  the  happy  and  sinless  time  for  man  upon  the 
earth  ? 

And  although  we  call  it  by  a  new  name,  the  ideal  man  and 
the  ideal  state,  is  not  the  image  of  the  perfect  man  and  the 
perfect  state  perpetually  before  the  human  soul  ?  In  what  but 
this  thought  are  centred  all  the  visions  of  humane  hope,  all 
the  calculations  of  benevolent  science,  all  the  outlook  of  the 
unselfish  statesman  ?  For  all  the  thoughts  of  man  tell  us  of 
a  perfection  of  man  and  a  glory  that  is  past  and  faded,  and  of  a 
glory  and  a  perfection  like  it  that  is  yet  to  come. 

But  in  this  repi'esentation  of  the  first  man  and  his  state,  one 
thing  more  is  necessary.  If  we  look  at  all  this,  and  con- 
sider it  carefully,  the  objection  will  be  made, — this  is  the  idea 
of  a  mere  animal  with  reason,  of  a  being  complete  in  himself 
and  with  all  his  wants  perfectly  supplied,  but  with  no  motives 
*  See  the  Sermon  of  Bishop  Home,  on  the  Tree  of  Life,  in  his  works. 


142  REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM. 

to  stimulate,  no  excitement  toward  growth  and  progress, 
no  uneasiness  or  want  of  satisfaction  in  tlie  present  to 
cause  him  to  look  onward  and  to  struggle  toward  the  future. 
Nay,  it  seems  as  if  he  were  hardly  a  moral  being,  but  a  mere 
animal,  an  innocent,  unconscious  of  good  or  of  evil,  on  the 
same  moral  level  of  unthinking  and  unmeritorious  freedom 
from  sin  with  the  brute  creation.  And  it  is  manifest  that  these 
objections  would  be  valid  if  the  only  descriptions  of  the  first 
man  in  the  Scriptures  were  those  we  have  above  given. 

But  this  is  not  all.  Man  in  his  perfection  was  not  left 
alone  with  the  beasts,  without  society,  with  his  body,  his  soul, 
his  spirit,  and  external  nature  on  the  same  dead  and  unaspiring 
level.  The  spiritual  world,  now  closed  to  our  intuitive  sense, 
was  open  to  him.  All  the  high  personal  qualities  of  the  pri- 
meval man  are  expressed  in  Holy  Writ  by  that  one  most  preg- 
nant phrase,  "  He  was  made  in  the  image  of  God."  And  man 
made  in  the  "  image  of  God "  is  expressly  stated  to  have 
been  in  the  society  of  God.  God  the  Word,  the  Creator  of 
the  world,  "  the  effulgence  of  the  Father's  glory,  the  express 
image  of  His  person,"*  the  only  begotten  Son  walked  with 
the  first  man  in  Paradise  as  with  a  brother.  Hence  man,  the 
social  and  intelligent  being,  as  he  manifests  himself  even  now, 
was  not  at  first  a  mere  animal  among  the  animals,  but,  made  in 
the  image  of  God,  he  was  in  the  society  of  the  spii'itual  and  su- 
pernatural world.  All  its  facts  and  powers  and  persons,  which 
we  but  dimly  imagine,  or  rather  dream  of  and  guess  at, — which 
for  us  lie  outside  the  horizon  of  clear  knowledge  in  the  regions 
of  spiritual  instinct,  or,  when  we  come  to  reason  and  argue 
upon  them,  of  misty  and  vague  conjecture,  were  open  to  him. 
As  the  grass,  the  trees,  the  sky,  the  stars,  to  our  eyes,  so  all 
the  facts  of  the  spiritual  world  were  immediately  visible  to  the 
spiritual  sense  in  him.  Whereas,  to  us,  now,  material  facts  are 
at  once  discernible  by  the  intuition  of  the  bodily  senses, 
without  any  intervention  of  the  reasoning  power;  but  it  is  only 
by  persistent  reflection  and  Christian  faith  that  we  come  to  any 

*  Hebrews,  i.  3. 


REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM.  143 

knowledge  of  spiritual  things,  and  even  then,  we  know  them 
not  as  we  know  the  things  of  sense. 

This  completes  the  idea  of  the  first  man ;  this,  that  his 
being  was  open  to  the  supernatural  and  spiritual  world,  that  he 
dwelt  in  Paradise,  with  God  the  Word,  in  whose  image  he 
was  made,  and  with  the  whole  spiritual  world  open  to  his 
sense.  Hence  a  loftiness  of  nature  and  a  nobleness  of  intellect 
in  him,  of  which  we  see  merely  faint  gleams  in  the  highest 
natures  of  our  fallen  race.  Hence  a  perfection,  a  grandeur 
and  glory  in  the  intellect,  the  spiritual  being,  the  person  of  the 
first  man  in  Paradise,  of  which  we  have  seen  but  floating 
fragments  in  the  most  transcendent  of  this  world's  sons  and 
daughters. 

And  thus,  finally,  we  get  to  the  full  and  perfect  truth  of  the 
nature  of  the  first  man  in  Paradise,  unfallen.  Thus  we  see 
that  the  words  of  our  great  English  preacher  are  not  merely 
high  rhetoric,  but  actual  truth  ;  the  eloquent  intellect  of  genius 
condensing  in  one  focus  the  scattered  raj^s  of  light  given  us  in 
Holy  Writ  regarding  the  first  man.  "  And  certainly  that  must 
needs  have  been  very  glorious,  the  decays  of  which  are  so 
admirable.  He  that  is  comely  when  old  and  decrepit,  surely 
was  very  beautiful  when  young.  An  Aristotle  was  but  the 
rubbish  of  an  Adam,  and  Athens  but  the  rudiments  (rudimenta, 
broken  and  shattered  fragments,  that  is)  of  Paradise."  * 

Hence,  in  the  primeval  man  the  sources  of  all  our  misery 
have  no  existence.  There  is  in  him  no  sin,  no  ignorance,  no 
perversion  of  the  good  of  nature  into  evil,  and  above  all,  there 
is  no  sting  of  remorse,  no  fear  and  guilt,  no  pollution  and 
shame.  He  is  clothed  in  righteousness,  arrayed  in  glory, 
robed  in  the  garments  of  immortality.  As  a  matter  of  bare 
historic  truth  man  was  created  perfect,  and  stood  upon  this 
earth  higher  than  any  of  his  children  (One  only  excepted) 
have  been ;  and  in  and  because  of  all  these  facts  was  his  pre- 
eminence over  his  descendants.  These  facts  are  all  of  them 
plainly  to  be  found  upon  the  pages  of  Holy  Writ. 
*  South's  Sermons.     Sermon  No.  3. 


144  REGENERATION  IN  BAPTIS3I. 

But  is  not  all  this  mere  theory  ?  The  opposite  idea  is  certainly 
unmixed  theory  and  assumption,  that  pagan,  Epicurean  idea  of 
an  origin  debased  and  degraded  at  the  very  first,  then  of  a  per- 
petual development  in  one  direction,  a  progress  onward  and 
upward  for  millions  of  years,  and  then  of  an  endless  transmu- 
tation of  species.  All  this  is  certainly  theory.  In  the  days  of 
Epicurus  and  in  our  own,  the  only  fact  upon  which  it  is  built 
is  wholly  subjective  and  personal,  that  is,  that  its  authors  cannot 
and  will  not  believe  in  a  God,  but  do  believe  in  a  materialistic 
and  mechanical  theory  of  the  universe.  But,  as  for  this  Script- 
ural doctrine  of  the  primeval  man,  the  protoplast,  that  he  was  a 
perfect  being,  in  a  perfect  world,  immortal,  living  in  society  with 
spiritual  beings,  all  the  history  that  we  have,  all  the  existing 
facts,  are  in  its  favor.  All  the  traditions,  all  the  instinctive 
natural  feelings  of  the  race  universally  assert  it,  and  all  science 
that  lies  outside  the  doctrine  of  materialism  assents  to  it. 
l^ay,  if  we  look  at  the  one  grand  luminous  thought  that  has 
lighted  up  the  path  of  the  great  men  of  science  for  the  last 
seventy  yeai'S  (we  speak  of  the  men  of  genius,  of  discoverers,  not 
of  teachers,  or  compilers,  or  ready- writers),  it  has  been  that  of 
the  typal  or  ideal  man ;  that  is,  man  perfect  in  all  organs, 
powers,  faculties,  and  uses.  This  idea,  extended  in  all  directions 
and  universally  applied,  has  been,  and  is,  a  most  leading  idea 
with  the  really  great  men  of  science,  in  all  its  regions.  What  • 
else  is  this  than  to  accept  the  Hebrew  and  Christian  idea  of 
the  perfect  man,  in  the  perfect  world  of  Paradise,  existing 
completely  under  the  law  of  his  being,  and  to  transform  this 
conception  and  fact  into  a  high  scientific  method,  a  new  light 
upon  the  path  of  scientific  discovery  ? 

But,  indeed,  the  same  idea  is  suggested  universally  to  every 
thoughtful  man.  Take  all  earnest  and  scientific  and  unselfish 
thought  of  disease  and  misery  and  wickedness  and  sin,  of 
every  evil  that  crushes  man  and  makes  up  the  sum  of  his  suffer- 
ings in  this  life,  and  before  you,  at  one  and  the  same  time, 
there  lies  the  idea  of  original  and  typal  perfection  in  man,  and 
of  a  falling  away  and  a  degradation  from  the  normal  state  of 


REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM.  145 

that  perfection ;  a  perfection  of  a  finite  being,  which  consists 
in  its  entire  accordance  with  the  law  of  its  type.  Sin,  the 
falling  away  from  the  state  and  law  of  goodness — disease  from 
the  normal  perfection  of  bodily  well-being — misery  from  that 
of  happiness, — all  these  are,  in  fact,  degradations  from  a  perfect 
type.  The  idea  and  fact  of  the  perfect  being,  and  also  of  its 
degradation,  the  falling  away  from  its  law,  are  perpetnally  sug- 
gested to  the  minds  of  all  earnest  men.  All  evil,  all  disease,  all 
unhappiness  in  the  world,  imply  these  facts  and  ideas  of  the 
perfect  man,  and  of  a  personal  or  hereditary  degradation  from 
that  original  type. 

That  death  and  disease,  crime  and  misery,  do  exist  in  the 
world  in  which,  as  created  by  God,  there  should  be  happiness,  is  a 
fact.  That  these  come  from  man  internally,  and  have  their  source 
in  him,  and  not,  save  abnormally,  in  external  circumstances,  is 
evident  to  all  thoughtful  men.  That  in  his  present  state  there 
is  a  tendency  toward  them  in  his  being,  even  from  birth,  the 
observation  of  all  men  shows.  That  it  is  universal,  the  preva- 
lence of  moral  evil  over  the  whole  world,  and  the  experience  of 
it,  or  of  the  temptation  to  it  in  each  man,  proves. 

There  is  a  conviction,  also,  that  it  is  in  generation  after 
generation,  in  the  father  as  well  as  in  the  children,  belonging 
to  the  nature  of  man  as  it  comes  into  the  world.  We  do  not, 
therefore,  seek  its  origin  in  the  individual  man,  or  in  the  pres- 
ent time.  But  we  are  compelled  to  pass  upward  until  we  reach 
a  point  of  time  and  a  person  in  which  it  began.  We  must  also 
consider  that,  from  that  point  downward,  it  is  in  all  men  univer- 
sally and  equally,  existing  as  a  hereditary  and  connate  tendency. 

It  is  not  exclusively  in  the  body,  as  the  philosophy  of  the 
remotest  East  considered,  but  in  the  spiritual  being  of  man,  in 
his  intellectual  powers,  in  his  physical  frame  alike.  All  parts, 
all  powers,  all  faculties  of  man  that  really  belong  to  man,  and 
are  constituent  facts  of  his  being,  all  alike  in  themselves  are 
good,  and  all  alike  are  flawed  by  this  hereditary  depravation. 
Hence,  scientific  physicians  tell  us  that  there  is  no  human 
frame  that  has  not  in  itself  the  germs  of  disease  existing  at  the 
10 


146  REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM. 

very  moment  of  birth  ;  that  there  is  no  human  intellect  that  does 
not  at  all  times  bear  within  it  a  speck  of  unsoundness  which, 
by  the  man's  own  voluntary  action,  or  by  the  force  of  external 
circumstances,  may  be  developed  into  actual  insanity.  And  there 
is  no  spiritual  faculty  or  moral  power  of  any  man,  in  which  the 
possibility  of  the  basest  and  most  hateful  degradation  does  not 
lurk.  Corruptio  oj^titni  jit  ])essim,a.  Hence  is  the  scholastic 
definition  most  true,  ^^ Omnia  naturalia  honaP  And  again, 
that  man  and  all  his  faculties  are  essentially  good,  evil  per 
accidens.  That  is,  that  man's  nature,  all  parts  and  portions 
of  his  being,  all  faculties  and  powers  that  he  possesses,  that 
are  constituent  parts,  and  can  be  said  to  have  been  created 
by  God  ;  all  these  are  good  in  themselves.  The  evil  in  them 
is  by  depravation,  by  degradation,  by  perversion  and  debase- 
ment, from  the  original  type,  from  its  law,  its  uses,  and  its 
ends. 

Hence  all  men  naturally  are  in  this  position,  beings  fallen 
from  a  perfect  condition ;  born  even  in  this  state,  as  all  human 
experience  can  tell  us ;  for  it  is  a  fact  that  sin  and  vice,  and 
crime  and  disease  and  misery  exist  in  this  world,  and  they 
originate  in  an  universal  tendency  in  the  race,  an  universal 
depravation,  which  is  both  hereditary  and  congenital.  JSTo 
philosophy,  except  this,  which  is  the  ultimate  and  highest 
product  of  Christian  thought,  will  in  any  degree  explain  the 
fact  of  the  existence  in  this  world  and  in  man  (both  of  them 
made  by  God,  and  creatures  of  His  hand),  of  evil  and  wretch- 
edness. 

The  first  man,  therefore,  as  the  Scriptures  tell  us,  fell  from 
God  by  his  own  free  act,  and  sin  entered  into  the  world  ("  sin 
is  the  transgression  of  the  Law"),  and  "death  by  sin."  And 
man's  nature,  and  all  its  powers,  were  flawed  and  diseased,  and 
he  was  cast  out  from  Paradise.  He  lost  his  spiritual  gifts,  all 
the  blessings  and  benefits  of  his  intercourse  and  communion 
with  the  spiritual  world.  He  lost  his  position  also  as  ruler  and 
lord  of  this  created  cosmos.  Material  nature,  before  an  obe- 
dient and  willing  servant  both  in  the  outer  world  and  in  his 


REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM.  147 

own  frame,  rebelled  against  liim  and  became  to  him  a  cruel 
and  treacherous  enemy,  ever  in  conflict  with  the  enfeebled 
reason  and  will,  crushing  him  down  or  leading  him  astray. 

For  it  may  be  truly  said  that  in  man  the  lower  portions  of 
his  being  are  in  rebellion.  In  him,  as  he  now  is,  the  appetites 
and  passions  tend  to  vanquish  reason.  This  predominance  of 
sense  over  reason,  although  it  is  not  all,  is  certainly  a  very 
considerable  part  of  our  injury  from  the  fall.  To  all  this, 
when  we  add  the  wonderful  tendency  there  is  in  man  by  nature 
to  follow  the  suggestions  of  evil  rather  than  good,  even  when 
this  last  is  for  his  best  interests ;  when  we  add  the  tempta- 
tions of  the  evil  intelligent  world,  both  invisible  and  visible, 
evil  spirits  and  evil  men,  we  have  in  all  this  a  Scriptural  repre- 
sentation of  man's  state  which  most  perfectly  agrees  with  the 
facts,  as  we  see  them  in  the  present,  all  around  us,  and  before 
our  eyes. 

And  that  which  connects  them  with  the  future  is,  that  as 
all  men  are  by  nature  sons  of  the  first  or  fallen  Adam,  in  the 
fallen  state,  so  to  all  men,  who  will  accept  it,  is  given  in  Christ, 
who  is  the  last  Adam,  the  power  of  a  restoration  to  eternal  life, 
and  in  it  to  all  the  glories  of  the  primeval  man.  "  The  first 
man  Adam  was  made  a  living  soul ;  the  last  Adam  was  made  a 
life-giving  Spirit.  Howbeit  that  was  not  first  which  is  spirit- 
ual, but  that  which  is  natural ;  and  afterward  that  which  is 
spiritual.  The  first  man  is  of  the  earth,  earthy :  the  second 
man  is  the  Lord  from  heaven.  As  is  the  earthy,  such  are  they 
also  that  are  earthy  :  and  as  is  the  heavenly,  such  are  they  also 
that  are  heavenly.  And  as  we  have  borne  the  image  of  the 
earthy,  we  shall  also  bear  the  image  of  the  heavenly."  * 

We  sum  up  all  these  facts  and  their  results  in  three  arti- 
cles: 

"  Man,  as  originally  created  by  God,  was  a  perfect  being, 

sinless  and  immortal,  dwelling  in  a  perfect  world.     He  was 

made  in  the   image  of  Grod.     He  was  full  of  spiritual  life. 

The  law  of  God  was  written  in  his  heart.     From  the  Father, 

*  I.  Cor.  XV.  45-49. 


148  REGENERATION  IN  BAPTIS3I. 

the  Son,  and  the  Holy  Ghost,  there  flowed  upon  him  freely 
gifts  and  graces  and  endowments,  transcending  nature,  truly 
supernatural,  coming  from  the  spiritual  world.  By  the  temp- 
tation of  Satan,  and  the  act  of  his  own  free  will,  man  fell. 
Thereupon  he  suffered  a  threefold  loss.  His  whole  being,  in 
all  its  constituent  parts  and  faculties,  became  depraved  and  dis- 
eased by  sin.  He  was  cast  out  of  Paradise.  He  lost  his  right 
and  title  to  the  gifts  of  his  first  estate.  A  son  of  God  wounded 
mortally,  exiled  from  his  Father's  House,  amerced  of  his 
inheritance,  this  became  from  that  time  his  state,  and  that  of 
all  men,  "  naturally  engendered  of  the  offspring  of  Adam." 

"  By  nature,  therefore,  all  men  as  born  into  the  world  are 
dead  in  sin — cast  out  from  Paradise,  under  condemnation  of  the 
law — unable  by  their  own  power  to  restore  themselves." 

Now  look  at  this.  The  whole  human  race  have  one  com- 
mon nature  from  one  common  forefather.  In  them  death 
now  reigns  in  all  its  shapes,  bodily  and  moral  and  spiritual, 
and  this  is  the  one  great  flaw  upon  which  all  the  other  evils 
depend.  In  it  and  under  it  they  are  born.  Their  souls,  their 
bodies,  the  very  air  which  they  breathe,  the  food  that  nour- 
ishes them,  the  whole  sphere  of  their  existence,  material  and 
social,  all  have  the  same  taint  of  death.  Hence,  in  man's  own 
being,  considered  as  apart  from  God,  there  is  no  help  for  this 
depi'avation,  for  it  begins  with  his  life,  and  is  an  inherent  and 
hereditary  flaw  in  it.  ]Nor  is  there  any  aid  in  the  material 
world,  for  this,  too,  has  the  same  flaw  running  through  it.  ISTor, 
again,  in  the  world  of  man,  for  the  whole  race  universally  is 
diseased.  Hence,  to  all  men,  sons,  by  their  natural  birth,  of 
Adam,  the  fallen  son  of  God,  and,  therefore,  themselves  fallen, 
there  is  no  help  in  mere  nature,  no  aid  in  the  sphere  of  this 
life,  save  in  a  new  life  and  a  new  birth  by  means  of  a  second 
Adam.  And  all  this  is  supernatural,  above  nature,  not  to  be 
found  in  nature. 

The  elements  of  the  Christian  system,  then,  are  these : 

"  God  the  Word,  the  second  Person  of  the  Holy  Trinity, 
the  Eternal  Son,  becomes  incarnate,  takes  upon  Himself  the 


REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM.  149 

humanity  of  man,  a  real  and  true  body,  soul,  and  spirit,  so  that 
He  was  born  upon  this  earth,  becoming  actually  a  man, 

"  And  then  passing  through  all  the  stages  of  man's  life, 
infancy,  childhood,  and  youth,  until  He  arrived  at  the  maturity 
and  perfection  of  manhood,  He  became  the  teacher  of  a  few 
disciples ;  asserting  for  Himself,  as  the  Son  of  Man  and  the 
Son  of  God,  powers  to  repair  all  the  evils  that  rest  upon  the 
whole  race.  And  henceforth,  even  in  the  history  of  His  life, 
and  in  the  recorded  words  of  Him  '  that  spake  as  never  man 
spake,'  there  is  a  power  for  good,  an  influence  over  all  men  of 
all  races,  that  has  never  been  equalled  in  any  teacher  or  witness 
of  the  truth. 

"  He  is  then  slain  upon  the  cross  by  his  enemies.  He 
has  prophesied  this  His  death,  has  declared  it  to  be  an  atone- 
ment and  a  sacrifice  for  the  sins  of  the  whole  world,  has 
declared  that  He  will  rise  again.  He  then  rises  from  death 
and  the  grave.  He  abides  with  His  disciples  for  forty  days, 
instructs  them  fully  in  His  doctrine,  that  He  is  the  God-man, 
that  humanity  in  Him  is  glorified  and  perfected,  that  in  Him 
the  perfect  man,  being  restored  to  life,  is  forever  one  with  the 
perfect  Godhead,  in  one  person.  In  Him  is  life,  in  Him  salva- 
tion, in  Him  restoration,  in  Him  the  new  birth  for  man.  All 
that  was  lost  in  the  first  man  can  be  restored  through  Him,  the 
ISTew  Man,  the  second  Adam,  the  Lord  from  heaven,  to  those 
who  accept  of  Him."  * 

But  this  took  place  in  Judea,  in  the  age  of  Tiberius,  the 
Roman  Emperor.  Hence,  that  the  work  may  be  extended 
over  the  whole  earth  tliroughout  all  time,  there  is  a  commis- 
sion given  by  Him  to  the  Apostles  to  endure  perpetually. 
His  kingdom,  the  Chm-ch  of  God,  is  organized  to  last  to  the 
end  of  the  world :  "  against  it  the  gates  of  hell  shall  not  pre- 
vail." The  Spirit  of  the  Father  and  the  Son  dwells  in  the 
Church  as  a  life-giving  power,  and  all  men  are  to  be  called 
within  its  bounds,  becoming  through  Him  "  sons  of  God, 
children  of  the  kingdom  of  heaven." 

*  See  "  The  Gospel  System,"  Book  ii.  cliap.  ii. 


150  REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM. 

We  sum  up,  therefore,  the  needs  of  men  and  the  works  of 
our  Lord  for  them,  in  a  few  more  articles : 

"  They  need,  therefore,  first,  deliverance  from  the  con- 
demnation of  sin  and  its  dominion;  second,  a  new  spiritual 
life  from  heaven  to  dwell  in  them  and  heal  them ;  third,  the 
existence  and  continuance  upon  earth  for  them  of  a  sphere  for 
that  new  life  to  dwell  in ;  fourth,  in  it  all  the  means  and 
influences  whereby  the  flame  of  that  new  life  shall  be  fed  and 
cherished  until  it  reach  perfection. 

"  The  Word,  therefore,  became  incarnate.  God  made  man, 
the  two  natures,  the  perfect  Godhead  of  the  Eternal  Son,  united 
with  perfect  humanity  in  One  Person,  was  born  of  the  Virgin 
into  this  world.  He  lived  with  us  until  the  age  of  mature  and 
complete  manhood,  as  the  perfect  example  and  standard  of  the 
human  race,  in  His  life  and  precepts.  He  died  then  upon 
Calvary  as  a  sacrifice  and  atonement  for  the  sins  of  the  whole 
world.  He  rose  from  the  dead,  and  ascended  into  heaven  to 
be  our  mediator ;  the  King,  the  Priest,  and  the  Prophet  of 
His  people  upon  earth  until  the  Judgment  Day.  This  is  the 
threefold  work  of  our  Lord  for  man,  which  once  done,  estab- 
lishes the  Gospel. 

"  For,  in  consequence  of  this,  and  because  of  it,  the  Spirit 
of  the  Father  and  the  Son  was  sent  upon  earth  to  organize  the 
Church  of  Christ,  and  to  call  upon  all  men  to  come  within  it. 
The  Church,  the  Eangdom  of  our  unseen  King,  the  Temple  of 
our  High  Priest  and  Prophet  within  the  veil,  is  a  permanent 
and  visible  tabernacle  upon  the  earth  for  the  regenerate  to 
dwell  within.  It  is  the  sphere  of  the  new  life.  In  it  are  present 
unto  man  all  the  spiritual  blessings  which  our  Lord  obtains 
and  confers  upon  His  brethren. 

"  The  Church  of  God  is  a  visible  organized  society  upon 
earth,  with  an  Apostolic  ministry.  It  is  Catholic  as  receiving 
all  men,  in  all  times,  and  of  all  lands  and  races,  within  its 
bosom,  and  as  finally  to  spread  over  the  whole  world.  The 
Spirit  is  its  indwelling  and  organizing  power.  It  is  holy,  for 
within  its  fold  are  all  the  means  of  holiness  and  salvation  to 


REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM.  151 

liim  that  believeth  and  is  baptized.  All  men  are  called  by 
Christ  to  come  within  His  Church, — '  The  Spirit  and  the 
Bride  say  come.' 

"  Hence,  to  all  men  the  Gospel  is  preached.  To  all  men  are 
proffered, — 1st,  Remission  of  all  their  sins;  2d,  Entrance 
within  the  Church  of  Christ  upon  earth,  and,  with  it,  the  new 
life  of  Christ,  which,  together,  make  regeneration,  the  new 
birth  into  the  new  state,  the  state  of  grace  and  salvation  ;  3d, 
After  this,  until  death,  sufficient  grace  and  guidance,  that  we 
may  reach  everlasting  glory  in  heaven."  * 

We  ask,  is  not  this  work  for  man,  of  Christ  our  Lord,  as 
born  into  this  world,  as  dying,  as  reigning, — is  not  all  this  a 
'supernatural  work,  a  remedy  from  heaven  for  the  evil  that  is 
in  us  by  nature  ?  Is  not  this  also  the  representation  that  the 
whole  New  Testament  gives  of  Him  in  his  relation  to  man  ? 
Surely  it  is.  In  Him  alone,  as  the  new  man,  the  last  Adam, 
we  have  the  losses  repaired  that  accrue  to  us  from  our  having, 
by  inheritance  and  birth,  the  fallen  nature  oi  the  first  man. 
"  The  first  Adam  was  made  a  living  soul ;  the  last  Adam  a 
life-giving  spirit." 

*  See  "  Tlie  Gospel  System,"  Book  ii.  cliap.  ii. 


CHAPTEE    III. 

The  condition  of  man,  therefore,  at  this  present  time,  con- 
sists of  two  extremes,  both  now  existing,  both  in  actual  being. 
The  first  is  man,  as  born  upon  this  earth  naturally,  fallen,  and, 
therefore,  in  sin  and  misery.  The  second  is  man  made  perfect, 
the  God-man,  the  last  Adam;  that  is  the  Living  Christ,  our 
Blessed  Lord,  glorified  and  exalted  to  the  right  hand  of  the 
Majesty  on  high.  In  Him  the  humanity  which  He  assumed 
as  frail  and  feeble,  being  made  perfect  by  suffering,  is  now  a 
glorious  humanity,  immortal,  enthroned  forever  at  the  right 
hand  of  the  Majesty  on  high. 

But,  if  this  were  all,  the  Son  of  the  Virgin  alone  would  be 
benefited  and  blessed.  He  might  be  a  model  for  the  race  and 
a  teacher,  a  pattern  man  and  a  prophet.  From  Him  we  might 
see  how  high  man  could  arise — to  what  a  glorious  height  of  be- 
ing humanity  could  aspire.  But  in  Him,  then,  there  were  for 
man  no  help,  save  that  of  example  and  instruction. 

But  in  our  exalted  Saviour  the  Godhead  and  the  humanity 
are  united  in  one  person.  Hence,  all  the  qualities  of  the 
two  perfect  natures  severally,  are  inherent  in  the  one  person. 
Therefore,  upon  earth,  and  in  time,  God  was  born,  lived, 
taught,  suffered,  died  and  was  buried,  and  rose  again.  And 
now  in  heaven,  in  the  same  person,  exist  all  the  attributes  of 
our  humanity,  aftd,  along  with  them,  all  those  of  God.  In 
Him  is  human  love  and  sympathy,  and  kindliness  of  heart,  and 
truth  and  justice,  and  equitable  feeling ;  every  natural  affection 
and  emotion  of  the  human  soul,  every  gift  and  faculty  and 
power  of  the  intellect  of  man,  every  perfection  of  the  human 
body,  all  these  co-existing  with  the  Divinity  of  the  Word.    So 


REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISuV.  153 

that  man,  all-pnre,  all-wise,  all-loving,  reigns  as  God,  in  the 
person  of  Christ,  our  Brother,  upon  the  throne  of  heaven. 
And  in  His  glorified  humanity  He  is  omnipotent,  omniscient, 
even  personally  present  in  this  world,  according  to  His  will, 
in  any  place.* 

Consider  this.  It  is  no  ideal  of  man,  brain-conceived,  but 
not  existing  outside  the  thought,  which  Plato  might  have  im- 
agined or  Goethe  sung.  It  is  no  mere  suggestion  to  man's  soul 
of  the  possible,  which  never  has  existed,  and  does  not  exist. 
But  this  is  a  fact  and  truth,  this  of  the  perfect  and  glorified  God- 
man  actually  and  objectively  existing  as  a  reality  in  the  same 
universe,  the  same  w^orld,  with  this  fallen  and  wretched 
humanity  of  ours  ;  and  existing  not  simply  in  Himself  and  for 
Himself,  as  the  glorious  and  perfect  man,  as  an  ideal  to  our 
intellect,  but  that  He  should  be  the  source  to  multitudes  of  the 
same  glory ;  that  He  might  be  "  the  first-born  among  many 
brethren";  that  "as  He  is,  so  we  shall  be  also."  If  the 
Christian  doctrine  of  Christ's  nature  and  position  is  not  seen 
to  be  the  loftiest,  the  grandest,  the  tenderest,  the  fullest  of 
hope  ever  preached  to  man,  it  is  simply  because  Christians, 
so-called,  of  this  day  will  turn  its  transcendent  facts  into  frigid 
metaphors, — "having  no  faith,  they  will  not  believe." 

1*^0 w,  as  Christ  is  the  perfect  man,  the  last  Adam,  and  as 
we  are  by  nature  sons  of  the  first  Adam,  having  in  us  his  life, 
so  also  is  the  spiritual  life  of  the  second  Adam  in  us,  when  we 
have  become  the  sons  of  God.  We  shall  see,  therefore,  a  mul- 
titude of  places  in  Holy  Writ  in  which  this  gift  to  man  of  the 
heavenly  life  is  spoken  of  and  referred  exclusively  and  clearly 
to  Him.  For  example,  this  passage  of  St.  John, — "  And  this 
is  the  record,  that  God  hath  given  to  us  eternal  life,  and  this 
life  is  in  His  Son.  He  that  hath  the  Son  hath  life  ;  and  he 
that  hath  not  the  Son  of  God  hath  not  life.     These  things  have 

*  See,  upon  this  subject,  the  fifth  book  of  Hooker,  the  whole  of  the 
fifty -fifth  chapter :  "  Of  the  personal  presence  of  Christ  everywhere,  and 
in  what  sense  it  may  be  granted  that  He  is  actually  present  according  to 
the  flesh." 


154  REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM. 

I  written  unto  you  that  ye  have  eternal  life,  and  that  ye  may 
believe  on  the  name  of  the  Son  of  God."  * 

We  give  another  passage  from  the  same  apostle.  Let  our 
readers  consider  and  think  upon  the  exceeding  solemnity,  the 
weighty  emphasis,  with  which  the  Eternal  Word  and  His  in- 
carnation is  connected  with  the  life,  and  with  which  our  com- 
munion with  the  Father  through  the  Son  is  asserted.  "That 
which  was  from  the  beginning,  which  we  have  seen  with  our 
eyes,  which  we  have  beheld,  and  our  hands  have  handled  of  the 
Word  of  Life  ;  for  the  life  was  manifested,  and  we  have  seen 
it,  and  bear  witness,  and  announce  to  you  that  eternal  life, 
which  was  with  the  Father,  and  was  manifested  unto  us  ;  that 
which  we  have  seen  and  heard  we  announce  to  you,  that  you 
may  have  communion  with  us ;  and  the  communion  that  is 
ours  is  with  the  Father  and  His  Son  Jesus  Christ."  f 

How  exactly  does  this  correspond  to  his  declaration  in  the 
first  chapter  of  his  Gospel, — "  In  the  beginning  was  the  Word, 
and  the  Word  was  with  God,  and  the  Word  was  God.  In 
Him  was  life ;  and  the  life  was  the  light  of  men."  X  The 
Word  incarnate,  the  Lord  of  life  in  our  humanity — He  is  the 
source  of  all  light  and  life,  even  to  the  men  that  comprehend 
it  not.  With  what  weight  and  fervency  this  thought  of  the 
life  in  man's  humanity — of  God  incarnate,  God  manifest  in 
the  flesh — dwelt  upon  the  mind  of  the  holy  Apostle  may  be 
seen  by  a  passage  from  another  Epistle  of  his, — "  Every  spirit 
that  confesseth  that  Jesus  the  Christ  §  is  come  in  the  flesh  is 
of  God :  and  every  spirit  that  confesseth  not  that  Jesus  the 
Christ  is  come  in  the  flesh  is  not  of  God :  and  this  is  that 
spirit  of  Antichrist  whereof  ye  have  heard  that  he  cometh  ;  and 
even  now  is  it  already  in  the  world.     Ye  are  of  God,  little 

*  I.  John,  V.  11,  12,  13.  t  I-  Jolin.  i-  1-3.  X  St.  John,  i.  1,  3. 

§  One  great  injury  to  our  English  version  is  the  influence  of  the  Latin 
language  through  the  Vulgate.  Now  the  Latin  has  no  article.  Hence  im- 
mense vagueness.  The  original  Greek  has  it  "  Jesus  the  Christ."  On 
account  of  the  Latin  we  have  it  "  Jesus  Christ."  People  commonly,  and 
without  thought,  take  it  as  if  Jesus  was  the  first  name,  Christ  the  family 
name.    Whereas,  it  is  "  Jesus  the  Christ,"  or  the  "  Messiah." 


REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM.  155 

children,  and  have  overcome  them :  because  greater  is  lie  that  is 
in  you,  than  he  that  is  in  the  world."  *  We  have  only  to  point 
additionally,  in  this  passage,  to  the  assertion  of  the  indwelling 
of  Him  who  is  life  in  ns,  in  opposition  to  the  evil  one  in  the 
world  without  us. 

Again,  "  We  know  that  every  one  that  hath  been  begotten 
of  God  sinneth  not ;  but  he  that  is  begotten  of  God  watcheth 
himself,  and  the  evil  one  doth  not  lay  hold  of  him.  We  know 
that  we  are  the  sons  of  God,  and  the  whole  world  lieth  in  the 
evil  one.  And  we  know  that  the  Son  of  God  is  come,  and 
hath  given  to  us  discernment  that  we  may  know  Him  that  is 
true,  and  we  are  in  Him  that  is  true,  in  His  Son,  Jesus  the 
Christ.  This  is  the  very  God,  and  Eternal  Life."  f  The  same 
ideas  are  here  seen  of  our  sonship,  our  possession  of  an  in- 
dwelling life,  and  that  life  coming  from  Him  who  is  very  God, 
and  has  come  into  the  world  for  us,  to  be  man  as  we  are,  but 
the  perfect  and  glorious  man,  the  living  Christ,  that  giveth 
life  to  those  that  accept  Him. 

But  it  will  be  said  these  are  the  words  of  St.  John,  the 
beloved  disciple,  a  man  of  exceeding  tenderness  and  loving- 
ness  of  character  toward  his  departed  Lord,  and  also  of  a 
peculiarly  Oriental. cast  of  thought.  We  shall  bring,  however, 
other  witnesses.  And  in  them  all  we  shall  find  that  this  doc- 
trine of  the  living  Christ  is  no  Orientalism,  but  a  doctrine  for 
the  whole  world,  east,  west,  north,  and  south  as  well.  It  is 
no  merely  personal  tenderness  of  heart,  no  lofty  emotion  in  one 
disciple,  uplifting  a  departed  teacher  and  friend  to  an  apothe- 
osis among  the  gods.  It  is  no  heathen  dream  of  hero-worship ; 
but  it  is  the  assertion  by  all  the  writers  of  the  New  Testa- 
ment of  the  uplifting  to  the  throne  of  heaven  of  the  first- 
fruits  of  our  humanity, — God  the  Eternal  Word,  the  Only- 
begotten  Son  of  the  Father,  born  of  a  woman  upon  the  earth,  as 
very  man,  and  now  and  forever  seated  for  us  upon  the  throne. 
This  is  that  fact  and  truth  which  one  and  all  they  testify  and 
asseverate.     We  shall  proceed  to  give  their  evidence. 

*  I.  John,  iv.  3-4.  f  I.  John,  v.  18-20. 


156  REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM. 

But  in  those  fom'  historical  narratives,  which  the  early- 
Christians  called  the  "  Glad  Tidings "  (Evangel  in  the 
Greek,  Gospel  in  the  language  of  our  Anglo-Saxon  ancestors), 
we  find  reported  the  very  words  and  discourses  of  our  Blessed 
Lord.  What  account,  therefore,  did  He,  according  to  them, 
give  of  himself.  His  nature  and  origin,  His  mission  upon  earth, 
and  the  object  and  issue  of  it  ?  This  is  very  important.  For 
from  the  time  of  Mohammed,  the  idea  has  been  a  favorite  one 
among  unbelievers,  that  His  friends  gave  a  very  diiferent 
account  of  Him  from  what  He  himself  did.  "  Issa,"  says 
Mohammed,  "  called  himself  a  prophet,  and  his  disciples  say 
that  he  was  the  son  of  God."  It  is,  therefore,  worth  while  to 
cite  our  Saviour's  own  words  concerning  himself.  We  proceed 
so  to  do : 

"  For  what  He  (the  Father)  doeth,  these  things  also  doeth 
the  Son  in  like  manner.  For  the  Father  loveth  the  Son,  and 
showeth  Him  all  things  which  He  himself  doeth :  and  greater 
works  than  these  will  He  show  Him,  that  ye  may  marvel. 
For  as  the  Father  raiseth  up  the  dead,  and  giveth  them  life  / 
even  so  the  Son  giveth  life  to  whom  He  willeth.  For  the 
Father  judge th  no  man,  but  hath  given  all  judgment  to  the 
Son :  that  all  men  may  honor  the  Son  as  they  honor  the 
Father.  He  that  honoreth  not  the  Son  honoreth  not  the 
Father  that  sendeth  Him.  Verily,  verily,  I  say  unto  you,  that 
he  that  heareth  My  Word,  and  believeth  on  Him  that  sendeth 
Me,  hath  eternal  life,  and  cometh  not  into  condemnation ;  but 
hath  passed  from  death  into  life.  Verily,  verily,  I  say  unto 
you,  that  the  hour  is  coming,  and  now  is,  when  the  dead  shall 
hear  the  voice  of  the  Son  of  God :  and  they  that  hear  shall 
live.  For  as  the  Father  hath  life  in  Himself;  so  hath  He  given 
to.  the  Son  also  as  well,  to  have  life  in  Himself.  And  He 
giveth  Him  authority  to  execute  judgment  also,  because  He  is 
the  Son  of  Man."  * 

This  was  said  almost  at  the  beginning  of  His  career.    And 
at  the  end  of  it,  immediately  before  He  was  taken  captive, — 
*  St.  John,  V.  19-37. 


REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM.  157 

"  These  things  said  Jesus,  and  lifted  up  His  eyes  to  heaven, 
and  said.  Father,  the  hour  is  come ;  glorify  Thine  own  Son, 
that  Thy  Son  also  may  glorify  Thee:  as  Thou  givest  Him 
power  over  all  flesh,  that  He  may  give  life  eternal  to  as  many 
as  Thou  givest  Him.  And  this  is  eternal  life,  that  they  may 
know  Thee  the  only  very  God,  and  Jesus  the  Christ  whom 
Thou  hast  sent.  I  glorify  Thee  on  the  earth :  I  finish  the 
work  which  Thou  hast  given  Me  that  I  may  do  it.     And  now, 

0  Father,  glorify  Thou  Me  with  Thine  own  self,  with  the  glory 
which  I  had  before  the  world  was  with  Thee."  * 

Again,  he  had  said  to  Nicodemus,  "  And  no  one  hath 
ascended  up  to  heaven,  but  He  who  cometh  down  from  heaven. 
And  as  Moses  lifted  up  the  serpent  in  the  wilderness,  even 
so  must  the  Son  of  Man  be  lifted  up,  that  every  one  that 
believeth  in  Him  should  not  perish,  but  have  eternal  life.  For 
God  so  loved  the  world,  that  He  gave  His  own  Son,  the  Only- 
begotten,  that  every  one  that  believeth  in  Him  should  not 
perish,  but  have  eternal  life."  f 

Again,  to  His  disciples,  in  their  distress  at  His  coming 
death.  He  says : 

"  Let  not  your  heart  be  troubled  :  ye  believe  in  God  (the 
Father),  believe  also  in  Me.  In  My  Father's  house  are  many 
abiding  places :  if  it  were  not  so,  I  would  have  told  you.  I  go  to 
prepare  a  place  for  you.   And  if  I  go  and  prepare  a  place  for  you, 

1  will  come  again,  and  receive  you  unto  Myself;  that  where  I 
am,  there  ye  may  be  also.  And  where  I  go  ye  know,  and 
the  way  ye  know.  Thomas  saith  unto  Him,  Lord,  we  know 
not  whither  Thou  goest ;  and  how  can  we  know  the  way  ? 
Jesus  saith  unto  him,  I  am  the  Way,  the  Truth,  and  the  Life : 
no  man  cometh  unto  the  Father,  but  by  Me.  If  ye  had 
known  Me,  ye  should  have  known  My  Father  also :  and  from 
henceforth  ye  have  known  Llim  and  seen  Him.  Philip  saith 
unto  Him,  Lord,  show  us  the  Father,  and  it  sufficeth  us. 
Jesus  saith  unto  him,  Have  I  been  so  long  with  you,  and  yet 
hast  thou  not  known  Me,  Philip  ?  he  that  hath  seen  Me  hath 

*  St.  Jolm,  xvii.  1-5.  f  St.  John,  iii.  13-16. 


158  REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM. 

seen  the  Father ;  and  how  sayest  thou  then,  shew  us  the  Father  ? 
Believest  thou  not  that  I  am  in  the  Father,  and  the  Father  in 
Me  ?  The  words  that  I  speak  unto  you,  I  speak  not  of  Myself: 
but  the  Father  that  dwelleth  in  Me,  He  doeth  the  works.  Be- 
lieve ye  Me  that  I  am  in  the  Father,  and  the  Father  in  Me :  or 
else  believe  Me  for  the  very  works'  sake."  * 

He  says,  also,  to  the  Jews  :  "  I  am  the  door :  by  Me,  if  any 
one  enter  in,  he  shall  be  saved,  and  shall  go  in  and  out,  and 
find  pasture.  The  thief  cometh  not,  but  for  to  steal,  and  to 
kill,  and  to  destroy :  I  am  come  that  they  might  have  life,  and 
that  they  might  have  it  more  abundantly.  I  am  the  Good  Shep- 
herd :  the  Good  Shepherd  giveth  his  life  for  the  sheep.  .  .  . 
As  the  Father  knoweth  Me,  even  so  know  I  the  Father :  and  I 
lay  down  My  life  for  the  sheep.  .  .  .  My  sheep  hear  My 
voice  and  I  know  them,  and  they  follow  Me :  and  I  give  unto 
them  eternal  life ;  and  they  shall  never  perish,  neither  shall  any 
one  tear  them  out  of  My  hand.  My  Father,  which  gave  them 
Me,  is  greater  than  all ;  and  no  one  is  able  to  rend  them  out  of 
the  hand  of  My  Father.     I  and  the  Father  are  one."  f 

To  the  Pharisees,  he  says  :  "  I  am  the  light  of  the  world : 
he  that  followeth  Me  shall  not  walk  in  darkness,  but  shall  have 
the  light  of  life."  % 

To  the  woman  of  Samaria,  he  says :  "  If  thou  hadst  known 
the  free  gift  of  God,  and  who  it  is  that  saith  to  thee.  Give  Me 
to  drink ;  thou  wouldest  have  asked  of  Him,  and  He  would 
have  given  thee  living  water.  .  .  .  Whosoever  drinketh  of 
the  water  that  I  shall  give  him  shall  never  thirst;  but  the 
water  that  I  shall  give  him  shall  be  a  fountain  of  water, 
leaping  up  into  eternal  life."  § 

To  the  Jews,  also,  he  says :  "  The  Father  himself,  which 
hath  sent  Me,  hath  borne  witness  of  Me.  Ye  have  neither 
heard  His  voice  at  any  time,  nor  seen  His  shape.  And  His 
Word  ye  have  not  abiding  in  you :  for  whom  He  hath  sent.  Him 
ye  believe  not.     Ye  search  (or  search  ye)  the  Scriptures,  for 

*  St.  John,  xiv.  1-11.  f  St.  Jolin,  x.  9-11, 15,  27-30. 

X  St.  Jolin,  viii.  12.  §  St.  John,  iv.  10, 14. 


REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISE!.  159 

in  them  ye  believe  that  ye  have  eternal  life :  and  these  are  they 
which  testify  of  Me.  And  ye  are  not  willing  to  come  to  Me, 
that  ye  may  have  life."  * 

These  are  our  Lord's  sayings  concerning  Himself ;  and  what 
is  the  sum  and  the  substance  of  them  ?  This,  plainly,  that  He  is 
the  Eternal  Son  of  the  Eternal  Father ;  that  now  He  is  made 
man,  a  real  man,  abiding  upon  the  earth  with  His  disciples, 
in  Judea,  and  thus  "  God  was  manifest  in  the  flesh  "  ;  f  that 
in  Him,  personally,  the  God-man,  are  all  the  works,  all  the 
gifts,  all  the  blessings  of  God  for  man's  salvation,  for  his  deliv- 
erance in  time  and  in  eternity,  from  sin  and  death  and  ruin. 
He  lays  down,  in  this  world.  His  life  for  man,  and  takes  it 
up  again.  In  Him  dwells  for  man  the  life ;  nay,  He  is  himself 
the  life.  He  is  also  the  teacher  and  guide  of  man,  the  Liglit 
and  the  Way  and  the  Truth.  Atonement,  forgiveness  of  sins, 
reconciliation  with  the  Father,  heaven-sent  truth,  and  heaven- 
born  life  are  in  Him,  from  Him,  through  Him.  All  the  reme- 
dies for  sin  and  misery  and  wretchedness,  in  these  passages  that 
we  have  quoted,  are  exclusively,  and  with  full  and  calm  assur- 
ance, ascribed  to  Himself  in  person  by  Jesus.  It  is  the  Son  of 
God,  the  Son  of  man,  God  and  man  in  one  person,  in  whom 
is  all  the  remedy  for  sin.  As  fully  as  the  beloved  disciple 
speaks  of  his  master  as  the  Christ  or  Messiah  (the  words  are 
identical)  come  in  the  flesh,  as  being  the  Son  of  God,  and  as 
gi-vnng  life  to  those  that  believe  in  Him,  so  fully  and  broadly 
does  the  Master  himself  assert  the  same  facts  and  truths  of 
His  own  nature  and  person  to  the  Jewish  nation  and  to  His 
own  disciples. 

We  come  now  to  that  celebrated  discourse  in  the  synagogue 
of  Capernaum,  in  which  the  wonders  of  the  humanity  assumed 
by  God  the  Word,  and  by  Him  perfected  and  glorified,  are 
declared,  in  which  also  its  reception  and  participation  by  us, 
His  brethren  of  the  human  race,  and  the  necessity  of  this 
communion  as  a  source  of  life  is  so  clearly  declared.  Over 
this  passage,  we  regret  to  say,  in  the  Western  Church 
*  St.  John,  V.  37-40.  \  I.  Timothy,  iii.  16. 


160  REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM. 

there  have  been  many  vain  jangHngs  and  vehement  disputes 
of  men,  both  Roman  Catholic  and  Protestant,  who  would 
begin  with  the  bare  letter  instead  of  the  spirit,  the  bark 
instead  of  the  tree.*  Does  this  concern  the  Eucharist,  or  the 
Atonement,  or  the  example  of  Christ  in  His  life  or  His  verbal 
teachings  ?  And  these  questions  have  been  discussed  so  volu- 
minously and  virulently,  with  such  a  quantity  of  negatives— argu- 
ments that  gainsay  and  contradict,  and  do  not  teach — as  almost 
to  wipe  away  from  the  mass  of  readers  any  definite  understand- 
ing of  the  passage, — to  force  upon  them  the  notion  of  a  body 
of  vague  figures,  accumulated  in  a  heap,  with  but  little  distinct 
or  clear  meaning.  We,  therefore,  once  for  all,  to  spare  our 
readers  these  discussions,  say  plainly  that  we  consider  that  the 
passage  asserts  fully  what  these  other  passages  assert :  1st, 
That  God  the  Word,  the  Eternal  Son,  was  incarnate,  became 
man  really  and  veritably  ;  2d,  That  to  all  that  believe  in  Him 
and  come  to  Him  are  given,  from  the  God- man  exalted  unto 
the  throne  of  heaven,  all  the  blessings  that  man's  fallen  state 
requires, — life  and  light,  atonement  for  sin,  the  resurrection 
of  the  body  at  the  judgment-day,  and  during  this  life  mystical 
union  with  our  Lord  in  His  glorified  humanity.  In  other 
words,  it  declares  the  incarnation  and  atonement  of  our 
Blessed  Lord,  and  all  their  consequences  and  effects  for  man. 
Of  course,  therefore,  the  regeneration  of  man  in  baptism, 
which  comes  from  the  God-man,  is  herein  contained ;  and  most 
plainly,  the  other  sacrament  of  His  Body  and  Blood,  the  Holy 
Eucharist,  is  alluded  to  and  expressed  in  it.  But  the  general 
doctrine  is  that  upon  which  all  these  depend,  the  doctrine  of 
God  manifest  in  the  flesh,  and  of  man's  privilege  through  this 
great  fact  of  the  incarnation  of  the  Eternal  Son.  f 

We  proceed  now  to  the  passage  from  the  Gospel  of  St. 
John,  which  we  have  spoken  of: 

"  And  finding  Him  beyond  the  sea,  they  said  unto  Him, 
Rabbi,  when  camest  Thou  hither  ?     Jesus  answered  them  and 
said,  Verily,  verily,  I  say  unto  you,  ye  seek  Me  not  because 
*  Qui  liaeret  in  litera  liaeret  in  cortice.  X  I^-  -P®*-  ^-  4- 


REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM.  161 

ye  saw  the  miracles,  but  because  ye  did  eat  of  the  loaves,  and 
were  filled.  Labor  not  for  the  food  that  perisheth,  but  for  the 
food  that  endureth  unto  eternal  life,  which  the  Son  of  man 
shall  give  unto  you :  for  Him  hath  God  the  Father  sealed. 
They  said,  therefore,  unto  Him,  What  ought  we  to  do,  that 
we  may  work  the  works  of  God  ?  Jesus  answered  and  said 
unto  them,  This  is  the  work  of  God,  that  ye  believe  on  Him 
whom  He  hath  sent.  They  said  therefore  unto  Him,  What 
miracle  dost  Thou  then,  that  we  may  see,  and  believe  Thee  ? 
What  dost  Thou  work  ?  Our  fathers  did  eat  the  manna  in 
the  wilderness;  as  it  is  written.  He  gave  them  bread  from 
heaven  to  eat.  Jesus  therefore  said  unto  them,  Yerily, 
verily,  I  say  unto  you,  Moses  hath  not  given  you  the  bread 
from  heaven,  but  My  Father  giveth  you  the  bread  from 
heaven,  the  true  bread.  For  the  bread  of  God  is  that  which 
Cometh  down  from  heaven,  and  giveth  life  unto  the  world. 

"  They  said,  therefore,  unto  Him,  Lord,  evermore  give  us 
this  bread.  And  Jesus  said  unto  them,  I  am  the  bread  of 
life :  he  that  cometh  unto  Me  cannot  hunger ;  and  he  that 
believeth  on  Me  can  never  thirst.  But  I  said  unto  you,  that 
ye  have  both  seen  Me,  and  do  not  believe.  All  that  the  Father 
giveth  Me  shall  come  unto  Me;  and  Him  that  cometh  to 
Me  I  will  in  nowise  cast  out.  For  I  have  come  down  from 
heaven,  not  to  do  Mine  own  will,  but  the  will  of  Him  that 
sendeth  Me.  And  this  is  the  will  of  Him  that  sendeth  me, 
that  of  all  which  He  hath  given  Me  I  should  lose  nothing, 
but  should  raise  it  up  at  the  last  day.  For  this  is  the  will  of 
Him  that  sendeth  Me,  that  every  one  which  seeth  the  Son,  and 
believeth  on  Him,  should  have  eternal  life :  and  I  will  raise  him 
up  at  the  last  day. 

"  The  Jews,  therefore,  were  murmuring  at  Him,  because  He 
said,  I  am  the  bread  which  cometh  down  from  heaven,  and 
they  said,  Is  not  this  Jesus,  the  son  of  Joseph,  whose  father 
we  know,  and  his  mother  ?  How  is  it  then  that  He  saith  that 
I  have  come  down  from  heaven  ? 

"  Jesus  therefore  answered  and  said  to  them.  Murmur  ye 
11 


162  REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM. 

not  with  one  another.  ISTo  one  is  able  to  come  to  Me,  except  the 
Father  which  sendeth  Me  draw  him:  and  I  will  raise  him 
up  at  the  last  day.  It  is  written  in  the  prophets,  And  they 
shall  be  all  taught  of  God.  Every  man  therefore  that  heareth 
from  the  Father,  and  learneth,  cometh  unto  Me.  Not  that  any 
one  hath  seen  the  Father,  save  He  which  is  from  God,  He 
hath  seen  the  Father. 

"  Verily,  verily,  I  say  unto  you,  he  that  believeth  on  Me 
hath  eternal  life.  I  am  the  bread  of  life.  Your  fathers  did 
eat  the  manna  in  the  desert,  and  they  died.  This  is  the  bread 
which  cometh  down  from  heaven,  that  any  man  may  eat 
thereof,  and  not  die.  I  am  the  living  bread  which  cometh 
down  from  heaven :  if  any  man  eat  of  this  bread,  he  shall  live 
forever :  and  the  bread  that  I  will  give  is  my  flesh,  which  I 
will  give  for  the  life  of  the  .world. 

"The  Jews  therefore  strove  one  with  another,  saying, 
How  can  this  man  give  us  his  flesh  to  eat  ?  Jesus  therefore 
said  unto  them,  Yerily,  verily,  I  say  unto  you,  except  ye  eat 
the  flesh  of  the  Son  of  Man,  and  drink  His  blood,  ye  have  no 
life  in  you.  He  that  eateth  My  flesh,  and  drinketh  My  blood, 
hath  eternal  life ;  and  I  will  raise  him  up  at  the  last  day.  For 
My  flesh  is  food  indeed,  and  My  blood  is  drink  indeed.  He 
that  feedeth  on  My  flesh,  and  drinketh  My  blood,  dwelleth  in 
Me,  and  I  in  him.  As  the  living  Father  hath  sent  Me,  and  I 
live  by  the  Father :  so  he  that  feedeth  on  Me,  he  also  shall  live 
by  Me.  This  is  the  bread  that  cometh  down  from  heaven : 
not  as  your  fathers  did  eat  the  manna,  and  died :  he  that  feed- 
eth upon  this  bread  shall  live  forever. 

"  These  things  He  said  in  the  synagogue,  teaching  in  Ca- 
pernaum. 

"  Many  therefore  of  His  disciples,  when  they  had  heard 
this,  said,  This  is  a  hard  saying ;  who  can  hear  it  ?  And 
Jesus,  knowing  in  Himself  that  the  disciples  murmured  con- 
cerning this,  said  to  them,  Doth  this  offend  you?  "What, 
then,  if  ye  should  behold  the  Son  of  Man  ascending  up  where 
He  was  before  ?     The  Spirit  it  is  that  giveth  life ;  the  flesh 


REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM.  X63 

profiteth  nothing :  the  words  which  I  speak  to  you,  are  spirit, 
and  are  life.  But  there  are  some  of  you  who  do  not  believe. 
For  Jesus  had  known,  from  the  beginning,  who  they  were  that 
believed  not,  and  who  should  betray  Him.  And  He  said. 
Therefore  have  I  said  unto  you,  that  no  one  can  come  to  Me, 
except  it  were  given  unto  him  of  My  Father. 

"  From  this,  many  of  His  disciples  went  away  backward, 
and  walked  no  more  with  Him. 

"  Jesus  therefore  said  unto  the  twelve.  Are  ye  also  desirous 
to  depart?  Then  Simon  Peter  answered  Him,  Lord,  to  whom 
shall  we  go  away  (from  Thee)  ?  Thou  hast  the  words  of  eternal 
life.  And  we  have  believed  and  do  know  that  Thou  art  the 
Christ,  the  Son  of  the  Living  God."  * 

Now,  we  may  look  upon  this  passage  in  the  Gospel  of  St. 
John  as  the  very  crowning  revelation,  the  completion  of  our 
Lord's  doctrine  concerning  His  own  nature,  both  in  itself  and 
as  it  concerns  the  human  race. 

And  what  does  it  say  ?  This,  that  He  is  the  eternal  Son 
of  the  Father ;  that  also  He  is  very  man,  the  God-man  upon 
the  earth,  God  incarnate ;  that  of  His  flesh.  His  humanity — 
not  mere  flesh,  or  dead  flesh  (apart  from  the  living  spirit),  but 
of  the  human  nature  of  the  Living  Christ,  the  Prince  of  Life, 
glorified  and  ascended  and  ever  reigning — can  His  disciples, 
that  believe  in  Him,  receive.  And  believing  and  receiving, 
spiritually  and  really  by  their  faith,  and  by  the  power  of  the 
Holy  Spirit,  they  have,  if  they  abide  in  Him,  all  the  blessings 
of  His  mission  from  heaven  to  earth,  and  of  His  ascension  from 
earth  to  heaven.  This  is  the  full  and  adequate  sense  of  this  pas- 
sage, embracing  and  expressing  all  its  significance  and  preg- 
nancy of  meaning.  And  it  manifestly  accords  most  completely 
with  all  the  passages  hitherto  quoted  ;  or,  rather,  it  is  a  perfect 
and  glorious  light  which  makes  them  all  to  shine  from  within 
w^ith  a  golden  glow  and  a  clear  brilliancy  of  hope  for  ruined 
man,  as  it  shows  us  man  in  Christ  made  perfect,  and  in  Him 
perfection  for  all  men.  It  is  the  crown  and  completion  of  all 
*  St.  John,  vi.  25-69. 


164  REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM. 

doctrine  for  the  Christian  Church,  and  so  it  is  most  suitably 
placed  in  that  gospel  which  was  the  last  written  of  all  the 
books  of  the  New  Testament. 

As  confirmatory  and  subsidiary  to  this,  we  shall  go  on  to 
cite  the  other  writers  of  the  ISTew  Testament,  St.  Peter  first. 
In  Solomon's  porch,  immediately  after  the  day  of  Pentecost, 
Peter,  being  along  with  John,  boldly  asserts  this  doctrine  con- 
cerning Christ  to  the  Jews  : 

"  The  God  of  Abraham,  and  Isaac,  and  Jacob,  the  God  of 
our  fathers,  hath  glorified  His  own  Son  Jesus ;  whom  ye  de- 
livered up,  and  denied  Him  in  the  presence  of  Pilate,  when  he 
was  determined  to  acquit  Him.  But  ye  denied  the  Holy  One 
and  the  Just,  and  asked  a  murderer  to  be  granted  unto  you ; 
and  ye  killed  the  Prince  (the  originator  and  leader)  of  life, 
whom  God  hath  raised  from  the  dead ;  whose  witnesses  we 
are."  * 

The  same  apostle,  in  his  epistle,  describes  the  Christian 
husband  and  wife  as  fellow-heirs  of  the  grace  of  life.\  He 
begins  that  epistle  with  these  words :  "  Blessed  be  God,  even 
the  Father  of  our  Lord  Jesus  the  Christ,  who  according  to 
His  abundant  pity  hath  begotten  us  again  to  a  living  hope 
through  the  resurrection  of  Jesus  Christ  from  the  dead,  unto 
an  inheritance  unperishable,  undefiled,  and  unfading,  reserved 
in  heaven  for  you,  who  are  guarded  by  the  power  of  God 
through  faith  unto  the  salvation  that  is  ready  to  be  revealed 
in  the  last  time,  in  which  ye  exult."  % 

We  proceed  now  to  the  Apostle  St.  Paul,  the  great  teacher 
of  the  Gentiles,  and  in  his  case  we  cannot  but  express  our 
regret  that  a  scheme  of  predestinarian  or  fatalistic  doctrine  has 
been  imposed  upon  his  writings  as  a  key  to  explain  them,  there- 
by putting  aside  and  perverting  their  plain  sense.  An  intel- 
lectual system  of  fatalism  addressed  to  the  individual  man  as 
separate  and  apart  from  the  Church,  and  considering  him  only 
in  this  light  before  God,  is  a  poor  substitute  for  the  fact  of  a 
Kingdom  and  Church  of  God  in  actual  and  continuous  histor- 
*  Acts,  iii.  13-15.  f  I.  Peter,  iii.  7.  %  I.  Peter,  i.  3-6. 


REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM.  165 

ical  existence  upon  the  earth,  with  its  ever-present  Ahnighty 
King  and  Priest,  the  God-man,  reigning  even  here  in  this  world, 
blessing  ns  His  brethren  here  npon  earth  with  all  spiritual 
blessings ;  the  same  eternal  King  and  Priest  to  the  baptized 
and  believing  slave,  or  diseased  leper,  or  hunger-bitten  mendi- 
cant, as  to  the  crowned  king  ;  the  same  glorified  Lord,  the  man 
Christ  Jesus,  equally  and  personally  present  to  Christian  faith 
in  the  smallest  peasant  church  among  the  mountains,  as  in  the 
inmost  sanctuary  of  the  highest  heaven  before  the  throne  of 
the  Father,  We  believe  that  the  Latin  or  Western  predestina- 
tion systems  of  those  two  great  and  sincerely  pious  men,  St. 
Augustine  and  John  Calvin,  have  obscured  and  hidden  most 
sadly  from  the  ordinary  Christian  mind  the  doctrine  and  fact 
of  the  Living  Christ,  the  Prince  of  Life;  and,  above  all,  we 
fear  that  it  has  destroyed  the  sense  of  the  perpetuity  and 
continuity  of  our  Lord's  work  that  it  is  doing ^  now,  at  this 
present  time,  for  us.  "  We  have  an  advocate  with  the  Father, 
Jesus  Christ  the  Pighteous,"  and  '•'•He  is  the  propitiation  for 
our  sins,  and  not  for  our  sins  only,  but  also  for  the  sins  of 
the  whole  world."  *  For  the  Scriptures  and  Creeds  in  the  ver- 
nacular, for  the  ever-present  and  living  Lord,  and  the  Church  as 
a  fact  upon  earth,  the  Scholastics  of  the  West  have  given  to  the 
Christian  world  predestinarian  and  Presbyterian  schemes  of 
doctrine  and  Latin  services ;  and  Christianity  in  Europe  has 
suffered  most  grievously  in  its  interpretation  of  all  the  New 
Testament  Scriptures,  and  above  all,  of  the  writings  of  this 
wonderful  apostle,  St.  Paul. 

When  we  come  to  look  at  this  apostle,  we  find  no  enthusiast 
steeped  in  the  Oriental  spirit,  imbued  with  Shemite  and  Asi- 
atic modes  of  thought,  but  a  man  of  great  genius  and  great 
practical  ability,  in  whom  the  argumentative  logical  mind  is 
most  predominant.  Roman,  Greek,  and  Hebrew  training  have 
had  their  several  parts  in  his  education.  And  looking  at  the  liter- 
ature that  is  in  existence  of  these  three  nations,  it  is  most  aston- 
ishing how  little  attraction  the  dreamy,  the  mystic,  or  the  fantas- 
*  I.  John,  ii.  1-2. 


166  REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM. 

tic,  either  in  fact  or  feeling,  had  for  the  intellect  of  St.  Paul.  He 
comes  to  all  thoughts  that  are  suggested  to  him,  to  all  outward 
circumstances  that  meet  him,  with  the  clear  and  strong  grasp 
of  the  Aristotelian  mind,  w^ith  the  business-like  readiness  and 
the  principles  of  a  Roman  lawyer.  Plato  had  never  a  smaller 
share  in  any  human  soul  than  in  his.  More  knowledge  of  the 
cii'cumstances  of  man  in  that  huge  Roman  world  in  which  he 
moved,  with  its  million-peopled  cities  lying  all  around  the 
Mediterranean,  its  population  of  three  hundred  millions  of 
freemen  and  slaves,  of  manifold  races  become  one  people  under 
one  great  law  and  one  Emperor, — more  knowledge  of  this 
huge  federated  nation  in  all  its  varieties,  more  tact  in  manag- 
ing all  classes  of  men,  has  not  been  seen  in  any  man.  In  Jeru- 
salem, in  Athens,  in  Corinth,  in  great  Rome  itself, — before 
Agrippa  the  Jewish  prince,  with  the  Roman  centurions  and 
chief  captains,  with  the  sailors  on  the  Mediterranean,  and  their 
captains,  and  the  barbarians  of  Melita,  he  is  the  same  keen,  man- 
aging, business-like  person — of  what  we  should  call  exceedingly 
hard,  shrewd,  practical  common-sense ;  sometimes,  perhaps,  even 
to  a  fault,  as  witness  this :  "And  when  Paul  perceived  that  the 
one  part  were  Sadducees,  and  the  other  Pharisees,  he  cried  out  in 
the  council.  Brethren,  I  am  a  Pharisee,  the  son  of  a  Pharisee :  of 
the  hope  and  resurrection  of  the  dead  I  am  called  in  question. 
And  when  he  had  so  said,  there  was  a  dissension  between  the 
Pharisees  and  Sadducees  :  and  the  multitude  was  divided.  For 
the  Sadducees  say  that  there  is  no  resurrection,  neither  angel, 
nor  spirit,  but  the  Pharisees  confess  both.  And  there  arose 
a  great  cry :  and  the  scribes  that  were  of  the  Pharisees'  party 
uprising, ybi^^A^  it  through  {ois/jta^opzo),  saying.  We  find  no  evil 
in  this  man :  but  if  a  spirit  or  an  angel  hath  spoken  to  him,  let 
us  not  fight  against  God.  And  the  dissension  being  great 
the  military  tribune,  fearing  lest  Paul  should  have  been  torn 
in  pieces  by  them,  commanded  the  soldiers  to  go  down,  and  to 
take  him  by  force  from  among  them,  and  to  bring  him  into  the 
castle."  * 

*  Acts,  xxiii.  6-10. 


REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM.  167 

Surely  this  transaction  manifests  in  Paul  a  degree  of  bold 
skill  and  promptness  in  managing  a  popular  assembly  which 
we  hardly  expect  in  a  mere  enthusiast.  The  whole  Sanhedrim 
was  united  as  one  man  as  against  the  ringleader  of  the  new 
sect,  an  apostate  and  a  deserter  from  Judaism.  But  at  one 
glance  he  sees  the  divided  character  of  the  meeting,  and  flings 
in  among  them  a  firebrand,  which  brings  at  once  upon  his  side 
the  most  pugnacious  and  obstinate  and  nationalist  part  of  the 
council,  and  causes  such  an  explosion  that  the  session  breaks 
up  in  confusion. 

]^ow,  what  was  the  opinion,  upon  the  point  which  we  have 
been  discussing,  of  this  able  man  of  business  and  of  the  world, 
this  keen  and  close  reasoner,  this  lawyer- like  Israelite,  full  of 
the  temper  of  the  Roman  forum,  and  as  able  to  meet  the 
exigences  of  a  popular  assembly  as  if  he  had  been  a  practiced 
orator  in  the  Athenian  Agora  in  its  wildest,  stormiest,  most 
democratic  era  ?  This  is  the  fact,  the  one  great  European  mind 
among  the  disciples, — the  one  man  among  them  all  who,  born 
an  Asiatic,  was  not  an  Oriental,  but  in  temper  and  talent  essen- 
tially an  European— the  one  man  among  the  followers  of  our 
Lord  in  whom  the  argumentative  power  and  the  practical  facul- 
ties predominate, — his  opinion  as  to  Jesus  Christ  our  Lord, 
His  nature  and  relation  to  the  human  race,  is  just  the  same  as 
that  of  all  the  other  apostles. 

With  them,  St.  Paul  thought  that  Jesus  is  now  and  for- 
ever the  Living  Christ :  "  The  Christ  must  have  suifered,  and 
risen  up  from  the  dead ;  and  this  Jesus,  whom  I  preach  unto 
you,  is  the  Christ."*  "He  is  able  to  save  to  the  uttermost  those 
that  came  to  God  through  Him,  seeing  He  ever  liveth  to  make 
intercession  for  them."  f  "  He  is  the  Prince  and  Perfecter  of  the 
faith ;  who  for  the  joy  that  was  set  before  Him  endured  the 
cross,  despising  the  shame,  and  is  set  down  at  the  right  hand 
of  the  throne  of  God."  % 

No  dead  Christ  did  Paul  preach,  to  be  apprehended  by  a 

*  Acts,  xvii.  3.  t  Heb.  vii.  35.  %  Heb.  xii.  3. 


168  REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM. 

living  faith,  "  but  the  Son  of  God ;  who  abideth  a  priest  for- 
ever.''^ *  "  Straightway  in  the  synagogue  preached  he  Jesus, 
that  He  is  the  Son  of  God."  f  "  His  Son  Jesus  Christ  our  Lord, 
made  of  the  seed  of  David  according  to  the  flesh ;  and  demon- 
strated to  be  the  Son  of  God,  by  spiritual  power,  according  to  the 
spirit  of  holiness,  by  the  resurrection  from  the  dead."  X  This 
is  the  declaration  regarding  Christ  set  fortli  in  the  preface  of 
his  most  elaborate  epistle.  Everywhere,  with  him,  "  Jesus  the 
Christ  is  the  Son  of  God,  the  efiulgence  of  His  glory,  the 
express  image  of  His  person,  who  upholdeth  the  universe 
(ra  Tzavxd)  by  the  word  of  His  power."  § 

And  no  less  is  He  man ;  "  The  second  man  is  the  Lord 
from  heaven."  ||  By  man  coineth  the  resurrection  from  the 
dead.  The  man  Christ  Jesus  is  the  one  mediator  between 
God  and  man,  who  gave  Himself  as  a  ransom  for  all  men. 
And  here  upon  earth,  being  made  perfect  by  suffering,  "  we 
behold  Jesus,  who  was  made  a  little  lower  than  the  angels, 
crowned  with  glory  and  honor,  because  of  the  suffering  of 
death."  1 

We  see  Him,  furthermore,  in  the  writings  of  St.  Paul,  as 
the  glorified  God-man,  sitting  at  the  right  hand  of  God,  ex- 
alted above  measure  {uiiepuipioae).  He  is  sitting  on  the  right 
hand  of  the  Majesty  on  high.  He  forever  is  seated  on  the 
right  hand  of  God, — of  the  throne  of  the  Majesty  in  the 
heavens. 

Consider  this  doctrine  of  the  Living  Christ,  the  man  who  is 
God,  and  is  our  King,  and  the  King  of  the  universe,  and  then 
you  will  see  how  this  bold,  brave  apostle,  who  before  men 
never  forgot  his  rights  and  privileges,  so  fully  realizes  the  do- 
minion of  his  Lord,  and  his  own  position  toward  it.  "When 
the  military  tribune  (chief  captain)  commanded  him  to  be  ex- 
amined by  scourging,  the  punishment  of  a  slave  according  to 
the  Roman  law,  "  As  they  w^ere  binding  him  with  the  thongs, 
Paul  said  to  the  centurion  that  stood  by.  Is  it  lawful  for  you 

*  Hebrews,  vii  3.  f  Acts,  ix.  20.  %  Romans,  i.  3,  4. 

§  Hebrews,  i.  3.  ||  I.  Cor.  xv,  47.  T[  Hebrews,  ii.  9. 


REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM.  169 

to  scourge  a  man  that  is  a  Roman,  and  uncondemned  ? "  (He 
knew  the  law  of  the  empire,  and  his  own  rights  under  it  as  a 
Roman  citizen,  and  he  would  not  submit  to  the  treatment  of  a 
slave  at  their  hands.)  "  And  the  centurion,  hearing  this,  ap- 
proached the  tribune  and  told  it  to  him,  saying,  Take  heed 
what  thou  doest :  for  this  man  is  a  Roman.  And  the  tribune, 
approaching,  said  to  him,  Art  thou  a  Roman  ?  And  he  said 
Yea.  The  tribune  answered,  With  a  great  sum  acquired  I 
this  franchise;  and  Paul  said.  But  I  w^as  free  born.  Then 
they  departed  from  him  which  should  have  examined  him  : 
and  the  tribune  also  was  afraid,  finding  that  he  was  a  Roman, 
and  because  he  had  bound  him."  * 

And  this  Paul,  so  bold  in  asserting  his  freedom  as  a  Roman 
citizen,  and  repelling  all  servile  treatment,  even  when  a  cap- 
tive, when  he  comes  to  speak  of  Jesus,  whose  apostle  he  was, 
in  relation  to  himself,  is  most  humble.  It  is  Paul  "  the  ser- 
vant {slave  or  hondsman)  of  Jesus  Christ."  Three  several 
times,  in  his  writings,  he  uses  this  appellation  of  himself. 
And  when  he  speaks  of  Christ,  his  Master,  he  applies  to  Him 
the  word  which,  in  Hellenistic  Greek,  implies  godhead  and 
supreme  dominion.  It  is  always,  with  him,  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ. 

He  is  the  God-man,  having  supreme  dominion.  And  we 
are,  through  Him,  "  children  of  God ;  and  if  children,  then 
heirs  ;  heirs  of  God,  and  joint-heirs  with  Jesus  Christ,"  f  "  fel- 
low-citizens with  the  saints,  and  of  the  household  of  God ;  and 
built  upon  the  foundation  of  the  apostles  and  prophets,  Jesus 
Christ  himself  being  the  chief  and  corner-stone."  :j:  "  We  are 
sons  of  God  through  Jesus  Christ."  "  Christ  is  our  life,"  and 
"  our  life  is  hid  with  Christ  in  God."  §  "  The  life  of  Christ  is 
to  be  made  manifest  in  our  mortal  flesh."  |  "  The  whole  cre- 
ation is  waiting  for  the  manifestation  of  the  sons  of  God."  *][ 
"  Christ  is  in  us  the  hope  of  glory."  *^ 

Now,  look  at  these  doctrines  of  St.  Paul,  and  they  are  pre- 

*  Acts,  xxii.  25-29.         f  Romans,  viii.  17.        %  Epliesians,  ii.  19,  20. 
§  Col.  iii.  3, 4.       II  II.  Cor.  iv.  11.      T[  Rom.  viii.  19.      **  Col.  i.  27. 


170  REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM. 

cisely  the  same  as  those  of  Christ  our  Lord,  and  of  St.  John 
and  St.  Peter,  and  the  other  writers  of  the  I^ew  Testament ; 
the  doctrines  of  the  God-man,  om-  living  and  ever-present 
Lord,  and  we,  through  Him,  "  partakers  of  the  Divine  nature 
and  life,"  sons  of  God  through  Jesus  the  Christ.  The  doc- 
trines of  a  real  new  birth  for  man,  of  a  living  and  life-giving 
Lord,  and  of  a  Church  that  is  no  abstraction,  but  a  reality, 
— the  kingdom  of  God,  in  fact  and  truth,  existing  upon  the 
earth. 

ISTow,  let  us  think  upon  all  these  ideas,  and  then  place  them 
side  bj  side  with  the  Roman  empire  and  its  gigantic  facts,  and 
how  do  they  stand  related  ?  Simply  in  broad  and  distinct  an- 
tagonism. 

There  is  not  an  idea  or  doctrine  of  the  Christian  Church 
preached  by  St.  Paul,  but  it  meets  and  tends  to  overthrow  some 
Roman  counterpart,  some  actual  fact,  some  real  and  organic 
element  of  that  great  polity  that  has  to  itself  such  a  strange 
resemblance.  Paul  preached  a  dominion  world-wide  that 
should  rule  all  nations.  This  was  the  very  claim  of  the 
Roman,  for  the  Roman  state  among  the  kingdoms  of  the 
world.  Paul  was  a  member  and  minister  of  a  rtoXcrda  to 
which  all  nations  should  belong.  This,  too,  was  the  claim  of 
Rome ;  a  world-ruling,  world-embracing  polity.  Paul  was  full 
of  Christ  his  King,  who  was  placed  by  God  "  far  above  all  prin- 
cipality and  power,  and  might  and  dominion,  and  every  name 
that  is  named,  not  only  in  this  world,  but  also  in  that  which  is 
to  come."*  Look  at  the  Roman  Emperor,  and  the  same  is  the 
case  with  him  ;  for,  by  a  most  curious  process,  and  a  course  of 
events,  partly  revolutionary  and  partly  constitutional,  the  pe- 
culiarity of  the  Lnperator  of  Rome  is  that  he  has  absorbed 
and  centred  in  himself  all  the  powers  and  magistracies  of  the 
great  republic.  At  once  he  is  high-priest  and  consul,  and 
general,  and  tribune  of  the  people,  and  censor.  He  has  in 
himself  the  supreme  might,  majesty,  power,  and  dominion  over 
Rome  and  the  world.     I^ay,  more  closely  than  this  does  the 

*  Epli.  i.  21. 


REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM.  171 

parallel  run,  for  the  Roman  Emperor,  after  liis  death,  in  all 
cases,  and  in  many  during  his  life,  was  worshipped.  Divus, 
or  God,  in  ordinary,  was  one  of  his  titles — Divus  Augustus, 
Divus  Tiberius,  or  Divus  Nero. 

And  then,  when  we  look  to  the  grand  engine  and  instru- 
ment of  Roman  civilization,  that  great  science  of  the  law,  in 
which  Rome  transcended  all  nations,  and  still,  in  a  measure, 
rules  by  it  the  European  world  outside  of  England,  hardly  do 
we  find  the  idea  of  law  less  prominent  among  the  Romans 
than  among  the  early  Christians.  St.  Paul's  writings  might 
all  be  put  in  one  hundred  pages  of  ordinary  English  octavo, 
and  the  word  "law"'  occurs  about  one  hundred  and  thirty 
times  in  them. 

What,  then,  does  this  mean  ?  It  means  this,  that  a  great 
people  has,  for  hundreds  of  years,  been  nationally  possessed  of, 
developing,  and  carrying  out  the  grandest  and  greatest  ideas  ; 
that  in  that  process  all  the  noble  and  manly  virtues  have  de- 
veloped in  the  race ;  and  now,  when  at  last  their  system  of 
polity  was  fully  realized,  and  the  world  Avas  one  nation,  under 
one  ruler  and  one  law, — from  Judea  comes  the  counterpart  of 
all  this,  and  yet  its  uncompromising  opponent,  a  system  which 
never  hid  the  fact  that  it  would  give  the  whole  world  to  Christ 
its  King,  to  His  kingdom  and  His  law. 

Looking,  now,  at  St.  Paul  and  his  character  and  position, 
and  considering  the  Roman  state  as  established,  its  policy  and 
its  religion,  and  what  is  he  in  regard  to  the  whole  completed 
system?  A  destructive.  See  his  peculiar  talents,  legal  and 
argumentative,  and  ask  what  ought  he  to  be  considered  in  the 
eyes  of  a  grave  Roman  statesman?  A  revolutionist,  certainly, 
of  a  kind  the  most  dangerous  and  destructive  to  the  Roman 
dominion  and  the  Roman  system.     This  is  the  answer. 

And  most  surely  did  it  come  true,  for  pagan  Rome  was 
overthrown.  And  in  the  writings  of  Paul,  the  Roman  citizen, 
and  of  the  other  apostles,  we  see  the  means.  Not  an  argu- 
ment, not  an  idea — hardly  a  single  word  in  them — but,  being 
scattered  broadcast  among  the  nations,  became  a  seed  of  ruin 


172  REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM. 

for  tlie  grandest  edifice  of  merely  national  and  human  polity 
that  the  world  ever  saw. 

We  say,  the  empire  was  destroyed  by  Christianity.  It 
is  a  mere  dream  to  imagine  that  it  was  converted.  The 
Roman  Emperor,  even  when  he  became  a  Christian,  had 
to  flee  away  from  Kome ;  the  pagan  associations  of  the 
eternal  city,  and  the  genius  of  the  place,  were  too  mighty 
for  the  man.  And  from  his  time  hardly  a  Christian  em- 
peror dared  to  dwell  at  Rome.  And  when  Alaric  the  Goth 
took  the  city,  four  hundred  and  ten  years  after  Christ,  the 
nobility  then  were  almost  all  of  them  pagans.  The  empire 
of  Rome  was  destroyed,  but  never  converted.  The  nations 
of  Europe  became  free  from  her  dominion,  and  their  people 
were  measurably  converted,  but  the  empire  never. 

We  have  spoken  of  Paul  as  he  must  have  appeared  to  a 
Roman  statesman  of  the  better  kind,  grave  and  severe,  and 
moral  in  his  unfeeling  and  stern  legal  way,  but  wholly  in  the 
spirit  of  Rome.  He  would  have  appeared  to  them  as  a  revolu- 
tionist and  destructionist — a  man  of  purely  destructive  ideas. 

But,  what  if  these  are  not  ideas  only,  hut  facts  f  What 
if  there  be  in  truth  a  King,  the  God-man,  ever-present  to  those 
who  believe  and  are  baptized  ?  What  if  His  kingdom  upon  earth 
be  no  metaphor,  no  grand  ideal  or  poetic  dream,  but  a  truth 
and  a  reality  ?  What  if  man  can  become,  in  a  true  and  verit- 
able sense,  the  sons  of  God  through  Jesus  Christ  our  Lord  ? 
What  if  "  as  many  as  have  been  baptized  into  Christ  have  put 
on  Christ  ? "  And  if  "  in  Him  there  are  neither  Jew  nor  Greek, 
bond  nor  free,  male  nor  female  :  for  (ye)  all  are  one  in  Christ 
Jesus."  *  What  if  Christ  has  shed  His  blood  for  all  men ;  and 
all  men  can  be  baptized  and  become  in  their  baptism,  by  a  real 
and  veritable  new  birth,  brethren  of  the  Eternal  Son  of  the 
Most  High  God  ?     What  do  these  facts  say  ? 

This,  that  in  Christ  all  men  are  equal, — all  men  are  free. 
The  dream  of  Grecian  political  Mdsdom  is  realized  in  the 
world  of  fact,  for  here  is  equality  to  all  in  their  re- 
*  Gal.  iii.  37,  28. 


REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM.  173 

demption,  their  new  nature,  and  their  new  birth.  And 
again,  here  is  freedom  to  all  men,  in  the  power  given 
them,  through  Christ,  by  the  indwelling  spirit,  to  abstain 
from  evil  and  sin.  And  then,  in  His  Church,  that  which 
the  Greek  statesmen  knew  not  of,  but  the  Roman  so  highly 
valued,  the  presence  of  a  law,  "  the  law  of  the  Spirit  of  life 
in  Christ  Jesus."  *  "  The  royal  law,"  "  the  law  of  liberty."  f 
A  perfect  law,  propounded  in  the  Church,  of  conduct  and 
morals  toward  God  and  man. 

And  then,  the  unseen  King,  omnipresent  (according  to  His 
will  and  om*  faith),  the  omniscient,  omnipotent  God-man,  King, 
Priest,  and  Prophet  to  His  Church,  His  kingdom  upon  earth, 
giving  forgiveness  of  sins,  sufficient  grace  and  guidance,  to  His 
brethren, — does  not  this  one  fact  give  a  steadiness  of  hope  and 
a  persistence  of  action  and  principle  to  the  Church,  which  has 
been  the  lack  of  all  republics  ?  The  Pope-king,  a  visible  mon- 
arch and  head  of  the  Church,  the  favorite  theory  of  the  Roman 
Catholics  (two  heads  to  the  one  body),  at  once  would  have  put 
the  Church  measurably  in  the  power  of  the  world,  and  ruined 
it,  as  it  has  done  in  the  West.  The  invisible  King  and  head  of 
the  Church,  dwelling  in  the  unseen  world,  far  above  the  sphere 
of  human  force  or  craft,  with  His  apostles  in  every  city,  all 
equal,  all  only  ministers,  all  mere  representatives  of  His  power , 
and  yet  ever  present  with  them,  while  the  Almighty  Spirit 
wrought  by  them  all  the  works  of  grace, — this  insured  the 
constant  existence  of  a  Church  upon  earth,  for  it  was  a  polity 
whose  monarch,  being  far  above  the  reach  of  man,  was  utterly 
incapable  of  being  controlled  or  influenced,  much  less  managed 
or  dominated  by  Csesar,  whether  emperor,  king,  or  president. 

Again,  men  could  be  citizens  of  that  great  politeia,  and 
obey  their  native  governments  with  an  obedience  limited  only 
by  the  law  of  Christian  morals.  They  could  hope  and  pray 
for  the  coming  of  Christ's  kingdom ;  and,  in  their  earthly 
citizenship,  they  could  act  upon  His  principles,  and  make  the 
law  of  Christ  the  rule  of  their  individual  life.     And  so  doing, 

*  Romans,  viii.  2.  f  James,  i.  25  ;  ii.  8. 


174  BEGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM. 

day  after  day,  year  after  year,  century  after  century,  the  stern 
pagan  prescriptions  and  principles  of  Roman  Law,  the  massive 
organization  of  the  Roman  empire,  the  perfection  of  all  ex- 
ecutives, yielded  to  Christian  morality,  until,  at  this  present 
time,  all  law,  all  government,  all  policy  and  rule  are  steadily 
and  surely  becoming  imbued  with  the  principles  of  the  Law 
of  the  kingdom  of  Christ. 

"We  need  not  say  that  we  think  that  throughout  all  history 
this  movement  has  been  taking  place,  checked  and  limited, 
more  or  less,  by  the  evil  heart,  the  self-will,  and  the  unbelief 
of  man.  We  need  not  say  that  we  look  for  a  time  when  it 
shall  be  completed,  and  the  Spirit  of  Christ  shall  rule  all 
nations  upon  the  earth,  and  be  the  fundamental  principle  of 
government  everywhere ;  that  not  simply  natural  justice  and 
public,  administrative  rigor  of  law  and  punishment,  as  in  Rome, 
or  mere  time-serving  policy,  as  in  Europe  now,  but  that  Chris- 
tain  mercy,  and  kindness  of  heart,  and  brotherly  love  toward 
misery  and  poverty,  and  disease  and  sorrow,  shall  reign  in 
all  law  and  all  government.  That  the  Christian  principle  of 
love  that  takes  all  men  as  brethren,  of  which  we  have  seen  so 
many  glimpses  and  sparks  in  man  since  Christ  our  Lord  came 
upon  the  earth,  but  which  nowhere  has  as  yet  entered  into 
the  ordinary  dealings  of  man  with  man,  in  dominion,  in  trade, 
or  in  administration, — that  one  temper  of  the  Christian  system 
which  we  call  the  Spirit  of  Christ,  so  utterly  unknown,  and  so 
perfectly  opposite  to  that  of  the  ancient  Roman  rule. 

We  must  say  that  we  look  for  this  to  the  Church  of  Christ 
exclusively,  in  the  consistent  carrying  forth  into  practice  of  her 
principles  by  all  her  sons,  and  to  no  philosophy,  much  less  to 
any  fragmentary  or  unorganized  Christianity,  however  zealous 
and  earnest  it  may  be. 

And  we  thank  God  that,  at  last,  in  the  ages  there  has 
come  to  be  a  country  in  which  all  men  are  declared  equal,  and 
all  men  are  free ;  in  which  the  Church  is  wholly  free,  separ- 
ated entirely  from  the  State,  and,  therefore,  permitted  to  re- 
cover from  the  wounds  of  European  feudalism,  and  of  despot- 


REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM,  175 

ism,  imperial  and  papal,  and  to  develop  lier  institutions  and 
direct  her  course  according  to  the  Spirit  of  Christ  her  King. 

And  thus,  at  last,  upon  the  earth  there  is  a  nation  in  which 
the  sons  of  God  can,  as  far  as  they  will,  no  one  making  them 
afraid,  obey  the  laws  of  our  Lord  and  King,  the  Son  of  God 
incarnate  upon  the  earth.  Thus  can  they  feel  that  His  king- 
dom exists  for  tliem,  and  is  a  truth  and  a  reality.  For,  at  last, 
after  ages  gone  and  past,  a  government  exists,  by  the  provi- 
dence of  God,  which  considers  itself  as  in  being  exclusively 
for  the  benefit  of  the  governed ;  which  exists  only  for  the  pro- 
tection of  ifte  and  property,  and  has  abdicated,  therefore,  all  the 
pretensions  of  Imperial  Kome ;  is  honafide  ajpolice,  and  not  a 
Mngdoni  or  sovereignty.  And  thus  is  the  field  left  clear  for  the 
kingdom  of  God  to  develop  itself,  as  in  no  realm  heretofore 
upon  the  earth.  And  the  Son  of  God,  in  His  life,  in  His  prin- 
ciples, in  His  glorified  and  perfected  humanity,  can  reign  in  His 
Church  and  in  us.  His  sons,  if  we  will  follow  Him,  as  never 
before  in  any  land.  This  is  His  work,  during  the  ages  past 
up  to  this  point  of  time,  and  now  completed  and  established. 
"  God  is  my  King  of  old ;  the  might  that  is  done  upon  earth, 
He  doeth  it  himself."* 

*  Psalm  Isxiv.  13. 


CHAPTER  lY. 

In  these  last  chapters  we  have  systematically  explained  what 
the  idea  of  regeneration  is.  We  have  shown  that  it  implies  an 
organic,  vital  principle,  the  life  of  Christ  in  a  sphere  of  exist- 
ence adapted  to  feed  and  cherish  its  growth  to  maturity.  This 
principle  of  life,  dwelling  in  ns,  forms  us  into  His  likeness, 
moulds  us  after  his  loveliness,  shapes  us  into  the  image  of  His 
virtues,  as  it  is  His  life,  the  life  of  the  God-man  dwelling  in 
us.  It  is  the  source,  the  fountain,  the  vital  principle,  the 
constituent  force  of  all  virtue  in  us  that  is  real, — of  all  true 
morality,  of  all  Christian  works  that  have  in  them  any  verity. 
As  the  life  in  the  vine  is  not  the  trunk,  the  branches,  the 
leaves,  or  the  fruit,  but  is  a  force  that  lies  beneath  and  behind 
them  all,  unseen,  and  yet  is  the  cause  of  them  all — so  it  is  with 
the  life  of  Christ  in  the  Christian.  All  the  Christian  graces 
are  its  results,  not  its  causes.  They  may  indicate,  therefore,  that 
it  exists,  they  cannot  bring  it  into  existence.  Good  works  are 
its  fruits.  We  argue  from  them  that  the  tree  is  planted,  is 
alive,  is  producing;  but  we  cannot  bring  it  into  being  by 
means  of  good  works.  The  planting  of  the  root  having  in 
itself  its  special  life,  this  must  come  before  all  fruits,  and  Chris- 
tian faith  is  the  living  sense  that  acts  upon  this  fact.  From 
these  principles  it  follows  that  regeneration  in  itself  is  super- 
natural, miraculous,  visible  only  to  the  eye  of  faith,  to  be  re- 
ceived and  acted  upon  by  faith,  indiscernible  by  the  senses. 

And  again,  it  is  the  specific  work  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  so  fixed, 
so  decided,  so  distinct,  by  the  providence  of  God,  in  time  and 
circumstance,  that  there  can  be  no  mistake  in  reference  to  its 
having  taken  place.  That  the  man  at  once  has  to  step  off  the 
ground  of  mere  nature  upon  that   of  faith,  which  is  above 


REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM.  Ill 

nature,  and  to  say,  "Here,  in  my  baptism,  by  the  mercy 
of  the  Father,  I  am  regenerated.  Now,  at  this  time,  by 
the  power  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  and  the  life  of  Christ,  I  am 
new  born.  This  is  simply  and  purely  of  the  Father,  Son, 
and  Holy  Spirit.  It  is  true,  repentance  and  faith  are  demand- 
ed of  me  as  qualifications  and  prerequisites ;  but  even  these, 
truly  as  I  feel  them  in  my  heart  to  be  real  and  sincere,  have 
been  and  are  wrought  in  me  by  the  Spirit  of  Grace.  This 
work  of  regeneration  is  done  in  me,  in  my  baptism,  at  this 
place,  and  at  this  time,  by  the  Holy  Spirit.  I  am  called 
upon  to  believe  this,  and  I  do  believe  it." 

And  again,  this  doctrine,  as  we  have  seen,  implies  a  sphere 
for  this  true  life,  in  the  regenerate  man,  to  grow  into  matu- 
rity ;  a  world  of  influences,  various  and  manifold,  to  feed  and 
cherish  that  new  life, — some  aiding  in  one  way,  some  in  another. 
As  to  the  smallest  and  feeblest  plant,  there  is  a  world  of  influ- 
ences given :  the  humus  and  the  moisture  to  be  sucked  up  by 
the  fibrous  roots ;  the  rain  and  the  light  and  the  heat  and  the 
various  gases  to  be  absorbed  by  the  leaves  ;  and  then  the  im- 
ponderable fluids,  the  unseen  influences  which  science  dimly 
conjectures  to  exist,  abiding  in  it  or  passing  in  currents  through 
it ;  and  yet  all  these  are  necessary,  so  that  a  whole  world  is 
needful  to  the  life  of  one  poor  plant, — thus  it  is  with  man  when 
new  born  in  Christ.  There  is  for  him  a  spiritual  world,  infinite, 
manifold,  far-reaching,  and  he  has  entered  within  it.  It  has 
been  let  down  upon  the  earth  from  heaven.  It  is  in  this  world 
of  time  and  space,  as  the  Church  Militant  upon  earth,  yet  it 
evermore  exists  as  the  Church  Triumphant  in  eternity.  Now 
and  liere  it  is  the  kingdom  of  grace ;  when  the  resurrection 
morning  is  past  for  us,  it  is  the  kingdom  of  glory.  A  society 
it  is,  at  once  natural  and  supernatural,  militant  and  triumphant, 
on  earth  and  in  heaven,  in  time  and  in  eternity ;  organized 
upon  earth  with  a  threefold  clergy  and  a  twofold  laity, — weak 
and  fallible  men,  doing  in  faith  a  feeble  work  that  ever  slems 
to  promise  perfection,  and  never  appears  to  be  perfect.  And  yet 
that  work  of  theirs,  upheld  by  the  Father  Almighty  in  the 
12 


178  REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISE 

operations  of  His  limitless  love,  His  almiglity  power,  His 
omniscient  wisdom,  by  the  Atonement  and  Sacrifice  and 
Mediation  of  God  the  Son  Incarnate,  our  advocate  with 
the  Father,  by  the  abiding  and  indwelling  presence  and  mission 
of  the  Sanctifying  Spirit.  Such  is  the  Church  of  God,  His 
kingdom  upon  earth,  into  which  we  are  introduced  by  our  new 
birth  ;  that  celestial  sphere  of  life  filled  with  so  many  facts  and 
powers  and  influences,  known  and  unknown,  wherein  dwells, 
even  here  on  earth,  the  poorest  human  being,  the  feeblest  in 
mind  and  body,  the  lowest  in  birth  and  circumstances,  of  the 
children  of  Adam  who,  by  spiritual  regeneration,  is  made  a 
Son  of  God. 

We  see,  therefore,  how  the  true  doctrine  of  a  Church  of 
God  upon  the  earth  goes  naturally  along  with  the  true  idea  of 
regeneration.  And  we  who  uphold  the  one,  naturally  main- 
tain the  other. 

Wherefore,  then,  this  need  of  regeneration  ?  Why  is  it 
that  man  requires  an  organic  spiritual  life  to  be  implanted 
in  his  humanity,  a  life  having  power  to  change  his  being 
into  the  image  of  Christ,  the  Son  of  God  ?  Wherefore, 
again,  should  there  be  a  sphere  upon  earth,  supernatural  and 
miraculous,  and  at  the  same  time  natural,  for  that  new  life  to 
mature  within  its  bosom  ?  Because  the  necessities  of  man's 
being  require  it.  Less  than  this  is  not  regeneration  in  the 
sense  of  Holy  Writ ;  less  than  this  is  not  adequate  to  his  wants 
and  wounds,  to  the  needs  and  demands  of  his  nature  and 
position  in  this  world.  The  necessity  of  the  fact  and  doctrine 
of  regeneration,  in  the  Church's  sense,  arises  from  the  fact  and 
doctrine  of  original  sin.  This  is  a  theological  term  which  is 
employed  to  express  the  whole  extent  of  the  facts  of  man's 
nature  and  being,  which  require  the  system  of  salvation  revealed 
to  us  in  the  Gospel.  If  all  that  man  needs  can  be  found  in 
his  own  being  and  the  influences  and  circumstances  that  lie 
arorfnd  him,  then,  as  man  is  a  moral  being,  as  he  is  a  being 
gifted  with  reason,  a  morality  framed  upon  reason  and  guided 
by  it  would  be  all  that  he  would  require.     But  if  he  needs  an 


REOENERATION  IN  BAPTISM.  170 

atonement  for  sin;  if  for  him  the  Son  of  God  must  become 
incarnate,  must  suffer  and  die  ;  if  for  him  the  Holy  Spirit  must 
descend  upon  the  earth,  and  for  him  a  Holy  Catholic  Church 
of  God  upon  earth  must  be  miraculously  organized,  and  mirac- 
ulously sustained,  as  the  fold  for  the  straying  sheep  brought 
back  by  the  Good  Shepherd, — then  all  these  supernatural 
gifts  imply,  manifestly,  wounds  and  losses  and  defects  in  the 
nature  of  man,  which  nothing  but  these  could  compensate  for 
or  heal.  All  these  injuries  of  the  fall,  in  their  effect  upon  man, 
we  embrace  in  this  short  phrase — Original  Sin. 

We  use  not  the  term  "  total  depravity," — this  is  an  exaggera- 
tion of  the  doctrine  that  is  not  to  be  found  in  our  standards ;  one, 
also,  that  has  done  endless  moral  and  social  mischief.  For 
depravity  that  is  "  total "  cannot  be  added  to,  it  is  complete 
and  consummate  in  its  corruption.  There  is  no  man,  however 
wicked  and  depraved  he  may  be,  upon  earth,  that  can  be 
totally  depraved,  inasmuch  as  there  is  no  living  man  who,  by 
further  acts  of  wickedness,  cannot  increase  and  add  to  his 
depravity.  The  term,  therefore,  which  the  Church  employs,  we 
confine  ourselves  to,  the  term  of  "  original"  or  "  birth"  sin. 

Now,  we  have  already  analyzed  our  services  as  to  the  doc- 
trine of  regeneration.  If  our  readers  will  please  turn  again 
to  those  services,  they  will  notice  a  very  remarkable  fact.  The 
Baptismal  Services  of  the  Church,  just  as  distinctly  as  they  as- 
sert regeneration,  assert  the  doctrine  of  original  sin.  In  fact, 
they  are  crowded  with  declarations  of  it,  and  allusions  to  it. 
"  All  men  are  conceived  and  born  in  sin."  "  That  which  by 
nature  we  cannot  have."  "  The  mystical  washing  away  of 
sin."  "  Remission  of  sins."  "  The  old  Adam  in  this  child,"  etc. 
In  truth,  the  doctrine  is  so  fully  asserted  in  these  services,  that 
without  it,  and  a  full  understanding  of  it,  our  services  cannot 
themselves  be  comprehended. 

The  state  of  mere  nature,  according  to  the  Church,  is  a 
state  of  death  in  sin,  an  unshielded  and  unprotected  state ;  in 
baptism,  eternal  life  is  given,  and  an  entrance  into  the  shelter 
of  the  fold  pf  Christ.     The  one  doctrine  is  asserted  and  predi- 


180  REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM. 

cated  upon  the  fact  and  truth  of  the  other.  The  same  thing 
we  find  in  the  Catechism.  Both  these  doctrines  are  there  as- 
serted, and  in  it,  also,  they  are  placed  in  the  same  relative 
position  as  they  are  in  the  Services.  "  Being  by  nature  born 
in  sin,  and  the  children  of  wrath,  we  are  hereby  («'.  e.,  by  bap- 
tism) made  the  children  of  grace."  We  go  through  the  other 
standards  of  the  Church,  and  through  them  all  there  runs  the 
most  emphatic  assertions  of  these  two  doctrines,  correlatively : 
"  that  man  by  nature  is  born  in  sin,"  and  then  that  for  man, 
in  this  world,  there  is  in  existence,  organized  by  our  Lord  and 
His  Spirit,  a  state  of  grace,  a  state  of  sonship,  a  state  of  salvation, 
into  which,  in  this  life,  he  can  enter ;  and  wherein  all  the  means 
of  grace  are  given  him,  that  he  may  "  work  out  his  own  salva- 
tion," and  "  make  his  calling  and  election  sure." 

In  the  Scriptures  the  one  state  is  described  in  this  way : 
"  You  (who)  were  dead  in  trespasses  and  sins."  *  The  other 
in  this :  "  When  we  were  dead  in  sins,  He  (God)  hath  made  us 
alive  together  with  Christ,  (by  grace  ye  are  saved ;)  and  hath 
raised  us  up  together,  and  made  us  to  sit  in  the  heavenly  places 
through  Christ."  f  The  one  is  the  state  of  our  death  in  sin,  the 
other  of  our  life  in  Christ  as  sons  of  God,  and  of  our  dwelling 
in  the  heavenly  places  of  His  kingdom,  here  upon  the  earth. 

Of  course,  to  our  readers,  there  is  no  need  that  we  should 
say  that  we  believe  not  in  the  Calvinistic  doctrine  that  the 
elect  cannot  fall  away.  Our  final  perseverance  is  due  to  grace, 
of  which  we  avail  ourselves,  not  to  an  absolute  decree.  Even 
in  this  world,  we  think  that  the  children  of  God  may  be  re- 
bellious, so  that  it  may  ensue  that  in  the  future  world  "  the 
children  of  the  hingdom  shall  be  cast  into  outer  darkness."  \ 
In  other  words,  we  think  that  our  new  birth  into  the  kingdom 
of  grace,  in  this  world,  being  a  real  birth,  has,  in  this  world, 
by  the  co-working  of  our  own  free  will  and  of  God's  mercy 
and  grace,  to  mature  and  ripen  into  the  "  stature  of  the  ful- 
ness of  Christ,"  the  "perfect  man."  This  growth  in  Christ  is 
completed  and  consummated  for  us  upon  the  morning  of  the 

*  Eph.  ii.  1.  f  Eph.  ii.  5,  6.  :j:  St.  Matt.  viii.  12. 


REGENERATION  IN  BAPTIS3I.  181 

resurrection.  And  then  we,  and  the  whole  Church  of  God, 
shall  be  born  from  the  state  of  grace  into  the  state  of  glory. 
Our  state  then  shall  be  consummated,  and  then  we  shall  be 
entirely  incapable  of  falling  away. 

But,  that  our  readers — who  have  gone  so  far  with  us,  and 
have  seen  how  distinctly  regeneration,  and  a  state,  even  in  this 
world,  of  life  in  Christ  through  grace,  is  asserted  in  our  stand- 
ards— may  see,  on  the  other  hand,  how  clearly  it  is  our  doctrine 
that  all  men  by  nature  are  dead  in  sin  and  unregenerate,  we 
go  on  to  give  our  Article  on  the  doctrine.  It  will  be  noticed 
that  we  change  some  words  and  phrases  in  it.  Some  of  these 
because  of  their  antiquated  sense,  others  because  they  give 
more  nearly  the  sense  of  the  Latin,  which,  as  we  have  before 
said,  is  authoritative  as  well  as  the  English  : 

"  Art.  IX.  Of  Original  or  Birtli-Sin. 

"  Original  sin  doth  not  consist  in  the  imitation  of  Adam  (as  the  Pela- 
gians fable) ;  but  it  is  the  flaw  and  depravation'of  the  nature  of  every  man 
"whatsoever,  that  naturally  is  engendered  of  the  offspring  of  Adam  ;  whereby 
man  is  very  far  gone  from  original  righteousness,  and  is  of  his  own  nature 
inclined  to  evil,  so  that  the  flesh  lusteth  always  contrary  to  the  Spirit ;  and 
therefore  in  every  person  born  into  this  world,  it  deserveth  God's  wrath 
and  damnation.  And  this  infection  of  nature  doth  remain  even  in  those 
that  are  regenerated  ;  whereby  the  lust  of  the  flesh,  called  in  Greek  <pp6vT]fia 
capKog  (which  some  do  expound  the  wisdom,  some  sensuality,  some  the  af- 
fection, some  the  desire,  of  the  flesh),  is  not  subject  to  the  law  of  God.  And 
although  because  of  Christ  there  is  no  condemnation  for  them  that  believe 
and  are  baptized  (in  the  Latin  '  renatis,'  regenerated) ;  yet  the  apostle  doth 
confess,  that  concupiscence  and  lust  hath  of  itself  the  nature  of  sin." 

This,  then,  is  the  doctrine  of  the  Church  as  to  man's  nat- 
ure when  born  into  the  world.  If  this  be  true,  the  first 
requisite,  manifestly,  to  man  in  this  world,  the  crying  neces- 
sity of  his  whole  being,  is  a  new  birth, — that  he  be  born  again 
through  Jesus  Christ  our  Lord. 

"We  make  no  apology  to  our  readers  for  bringing  before 
them  the  doctrine  of  original  sin,  any  more  than  we  would  to 
educated  persons  for  speaking  to  them  of  the  principle  of 
gravitation  in  a  popular  treatise  upon  astronomy.  Original 
sin,  or  as  our  article  translates  it,  "  birth-sin,"  is  a  brief  phrase, 


182  REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM. 

used  in  scientific  theology  to  signify  the  facts  of  the  condition 
of  man  in  the  merely  natural  state. 

These  facts  belong  to  the  whole  human  race,  and  to  each 
individual  of  the  same.  They  are  of  universal  concernment  and 
universal  interest.  If  they  are  true,  they,  with  the  correspond- 
ing doctrines  of  regeneration  and  justification,  solve  many  prob- 
lems which  from  the  earliest  times  have  agitated  the  heart  as 
well  as  the  intellect  of  man.  They  declare  the  inherent  and 
original  causes  of  his  misery  and  its  remedy,  and  they  place  him 
upon  a  sure  basis  of  calm  hope.  For,  being  by  nature  dead  in 
sin,  we  can  become  alive  in  Christ.  Being  condemned  we  can 
be  acquitted,  or  justified.  Having  no  hope  in  this  world  in 
our  own  merits,  we  can  dwell  in  a  sure  and  certain  faith  in 
Christ  our  Saviour  and  Redeemer.  Our  state  by  nature,  into 
which  we  are  born,  can  be,  even  in  this  world,  repaired  by  tliat 
heavenly  life  and  state  into  which  we  are  new  born.  There- 
fore, to  understand  fully  and  definitely  the  benefits  and  bless- 
ings of  our  state  as  sons  of  God  through  grace,  it  is  necessary 
that  we  should  as  distinctly  comprehend  our  position  through 
original  sin,  that  state  into  which  we  come  by  our  natural  birth. 

This  is  no  problem  of  recondite  science,  which  but  a  few 
men  need  take  any  interest  in.  It  is  the  question  of  the  origin 
of  evil,  the  question  of  the  whole  world  and  of  our  whole  race. 
Men  of  all  ages  and  of  all  climates  have  occupied  themselves 
with  this  question  ;  in  fact,  each  human  being  that  is  born  upon 
this  earth  is  forced,  by  the  experience  of  his  life  and  the  neces- 
sities of  his  inmost  being,  to  ask  of  himself  this  question,  and 
to  attempt  a  solution  of  it.  Throughout  all  time,  over  the 
whole  world,  this  has  been  the  problem  of  high  and  low,  of  rich 
and  poor,  of  the  sage  and  the  ignorant,  of  the  man  and  the 
woman,  the  adult  and  the  child ;  for  it  is  the  problem  of  man's 
weakness,  his  sorrow,  and  his  suffering.  We  have  in  actual 
existence  philosophic,  treatises  of  all  ages  and  of  all  nations  from 
one  thousand  j^ears  before  Christ  downward,  and  in  them  all 
this  question  of  man's  misery  in  this  world  is  a  leading  question, 
— the  question,  we  may  say,  that  originates  and  makes  necessary 


REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM.  183 

all  philosophy.  It  puts  itself  in  the  thought  of  all  men  in  this 
shape,  "  Wherefore  am  I  wicked  and  miserable, — wherefore  are 
all  men  so,  since  God  is  good,  and  God  has  made  the  world 
and  man  ? "  No  man  has  escaped  this  question  that  ever  has 
been  born  into  this  world.  All  men  have  felt  it  in  their  being, 
in  the  very  core  of  their  heart.  It  has  been  the  one  great 
problem  to  all  men,  from  Gotama  Buddha  and  Zoroaster  in 
the  East,  Socrates  and  all  the  Greek  philosophers  in  the  West, 
down  to  wretched  Byron  and  wa-etched  Shelley. 

This  problem,  and  its  facts,  is  the  centre  of  all  men's  agony 
and  all  their  distress.  Has  it  any  solution  in  intellect  and  life  ? 
We  answer,  yes.  But  not  in  mere  human  speculation  or  science, 
or  in  the  conclusions  of  human  intellect.  It  is  solved  completely 
in  these  two  correlated  doctrines  of  revelation,— the  doctrine  of 
original  sin,  that  is,  the  doctrine  of  revelation  concerning  man's 
state  by  nature ;  and  the  doctrines  of  regeneration  and  justifica- 
tion, which  declare  the  state  to  which  man  may  be  uplifted  in 
this  M'orld  by  the  grace  of  God. 

Here,  then,  Christianity  approaches  philosophy,  which  is 
helpless.  Here  it  solves  the  problem  which  has  employed  all 
men,  the  problem  of  man's  misery.  It  declares  the  disease.  It 
also  gives  the  remedy.  Intellectually  and  practically  the  answer 
to  the  enigma  is  complete. 

By  tlie  light,  therefore,  of  this  solution  we  look  at  the  philos- 
ophy, mental  and  ethical,  of  these  ancient  sages,  and  especially 
of  the  Greek  philosophers,  and  M^e  find  a  peculiar  deficiency 
in  them  all.  In  them  we  find  a  true  intellectual  analysis  of  the 
powers  and  faculties  of  man,  of  the  ends  to  which  they  may 
be  directed,  of  the  happiness  which  they  may  produce  when 
rightly  guided.  We  find  in  them  also  rules  and  directions  for 
guiding  all  of  them  aright.  And  yet  all  these,  as  a  matter  of 
fact,  are  deficient  and  inefiicient,  for  the  simple  reason  that  the 
ancient  Greek  philosophers,  one  and  all,  take  for  granted  that 
the  being  of  man  is  perfect,  his  faculties  untainted  by  disease. 
And  this  hypothesis  they  assumed  in  the  face  of  the  actual 
viciousness,  the  immorality,  the  criminality  of  man.     Their 


184  REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM. 

philosophy  was  imperfect,  as  it  assigned  no  place  and  no  cause 
for  these  patent  facts,  present  before  their  eyes.  These  thinkers, 
then,  M-ere,  for  the  most  part,  helpless  dreamers  and  theorizers, 
isolated  by  their  mere  intellectualism  from  the  world  of  action. 
They  supplied  splendid  commonplaces  for  the  orator,  intellect- 
ual exercises  for  the  student,  glittering  ornaments  for  the  ambi- 
tious advocate  and  rhetorician  ;  but  they  gave  no  guidance  to 
the  men  of  action,  they  supplied  no  controlling  influence  over 
character  and  life  to  the  masses. 

Christianity,  entering  into  the  pagan  world,  changed  all 
this.  It  objected  to  no  honest  philosophic  analysis  of  the  facul- 
ties or  powers  of  man,  but  it  supplied  at  once  a  primal  defect. 
It  gave  to  the  philosophy  of  man's  nature  the  doctrine  of  orig- 
inal sin,  a  doctrine  without  which  there  can  be  no  true  and  ade- 
quate philosophy  of  humanity,  wrought  out  by  the  toil  of  human 
intellect,  whether  by  the  ancients  who  were  ignorant  of  it,  or 
by  the  moderns  who  overlook  and  ignore  it.  Christianity 
asserts  in  this  doctrine  that  in  every  man  born  into  this  world, 
his  nature  is  diseased ;  depraved,  flawed  as  it  were,  in  itself,  and 
in  each  and  every  faculty  of  his  threefold  being,  corporeal,  in- 
tellectual, spiritual.  This  disease  or  depravation  is  sin.  The 
doctrine  is  called  the  doctrine  of  Original  or  Birth-Sin. 

Now,  if  this  statement  be  true,  we  shall  find,  first,  that  it  is 
clearly  and  distinctly  asserted  as  a  fact  and  doctrine  in  Holy 
Writ. 

And  again,  over  the  whole  world  and  in  every  natural  man 
we  shall  find  its  consequences  in  evil  done  by  man  against  the 
convictions  of  his  reason,  the  warnings  of  his  conscience,  and 
even  his  own  best  interests.  And  as  the  result  of  this  fiaw  in 
the  universal  nature  of  man,  we  see  evil  and  misery  spread  over 
the  face  of  the  earth,  a  bitter  and  black  flood,  fed  from  the 
fountain  in  the  heart  of  every  man  who  is  unregenerate  and 
unrenewed. 

And  thirdly,  for  this  we  find  a  remedy  in  the  atonement  of 
our  Lord  for  the  sins  of  all  men,  and  in  the  gift  of  a  new  life, 
extended  and  proffered  by  Him  to  all  the  sons  of  men. 


REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM.  185 

Have  we  not,  therefore,  in  tlie  facts  of  man's  life  upon  the 
earth,  in  the  declarations  of  Holy  Writ,  and  again  in  the  great 
events  of  our  Lord's  incarnation  and  atonement,  adequate 
proofs  of  this  great  fundamental  doctrine  of  philosophy,  which 
is  revealed  and  given  to  us  only  by  revelation  ?  Does  it  not 
place  us  at  once  in  a  true  philosophic  position  when  it  assures 
us  of  the  fact  that  human  nature  is  diseased,  that  all  true 
analysis  and  anatomy  of  marCs  natui'e  is  and  must  be  nior- 
hid.  Not  nature  simply,  must  be  examined,  but  nature  in  re- 
lation to  the  diseases  that  impede  and  deprave  its  action.  A 
twofold  nature, — first,  the  nature  in  which  the  man  originally 
was  created,  and  then  its  actual  condition  as  it  now  is,  polluted 
and  diseased  by  sin. 

We  should  expect,  then,  that  the  first  Christians  would 
take  a  very  peculiar  position  toward  the  Greek  philosophy 
with  which  they  were  brought  into  conflict,  a  position  not  of 
hatred  and  contempt,  but  of  sincere  pity,  as  feeling  its  earnest- 
ness and  at  the  same  time  its  vanity,  and  as  knowing  that  they 
themselves  were  in  possession  of  the  only  possible,  the  only 
real  and  adequate  basis  for  a  true  philosophy  of  man. 

Well  did  the  Apostle  St,  Paul  understand  this.  He  knew 
the  great  deficiency  of  all  philosophy  framed  by  man's  unaided 
intellect,  both  in  its  primal  analysis  and  in  its  final  conclusions. 
And,  therefore,  to  the  Greeks  of  the  most  opulent  and  educat- 
ed city  of  Hellas,  he  shrinks  not  to  present  the  vainness  of 
their  doctrine,  and  the  fulness  of  Christ.  The  passage  to 
which  we  refer  is,  in  the  point  of  view  we  have  been  consider- 
ing, most  remarkable.  The  gist  of  it  is  lost  in  our  version, 
because  the  English  word  "  wisdom "  has  no  such  peculiar 
sense,  no  such  fulness  of  allusion,  as  the  original  word  urofia 
has.  In  order  to  understand  the  passage,  we  must  attend  to 
the  words  he  employs,  ao<fia  and  aocpol,  and  again,  //copca  and 
/jicopoc.  The  first,  translated  "wisdom"  and  "wise,"  is  un- 
questionably identical  in  Greek  usage  with  "  philosophy  "  and 
"philosophers."  The  second,  translated  " foolishness,"  is  un- 
translatable.    It  is  the  scornful  technical  term  the  philosophers 


186  REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM. 

gave  the  "Idiotae," — those  untrained  in  their  schools.     "We 
translate  it  "silliness." 

We  would  only  make  one  remark  more, — that  the  inter- 
pretation we  give  is  that  of  St.  John  Chrysostom  and  Tlieo- 
doret.  It  furthermore  is  the  sense  which  would  easily  and  at 
once  occur  to  a  native  Greek  of  that  city  and  that  time,  the 
easily-understood  words  ao(pia  and  fxiopia  occurring  no  less 
than  nineteen  times  in  fourteen  verses.  The  one  word,  in  the 
Greek  idiom,  it  will  be  remarked,  has  these  two  meanings — 
the  technical  sense  of  "philosophy,"  the  ordinary  meaning 
of  "wisdom";  the  other  word,  of  "want  of  philosophic 
training"  or  " silliness."  There  is,  therefore,  in  the  original 
Greek,  in  this  double  sense,  a  rapid  and  pregnant  suggestive- 
ness,  which  we  cannot  get  at  or  express  in  any  English  trans- 
lation.    The  sense  is  true,  nevertheless. 

"  For  Christ  sent  me  not  to  baptize,  but  to  preach  the  Gos- 
pel :  not  with  the  j)hilosophy  {ao(pia)  of  words,  lest  the  Cross 
of  Christ  should  be  made  of  none  effect.  For  the  preaching 
of  the  Cross  is  to  them  that  perish  silliness  (jjicopca) ;  but  unto 
us  which  are  saved  it  is-  the  power  of  God.  For  it  is  written, 
I  M'ill  destroy  the  wisdom  {aocpca,  philosophy)  of  the  wise 
{aocpatv,  philosophers),  and  will  bring  to  naught  the  intellect 
of  the  intellectual  iawzaic,  and  auvzxiov).  Where  is  the  wise 
{aoipbz^  philosopher)?  Where  is  the  scribe?  Where  is  the 
disputer  of  this  world  ?  Hath  not  God  made  silly  {i[icopavev) 
the  philosophy  {ao(pia)  of  this  world?  For  after  that  in  the 
wisdom,  {aoifio)  of  God  the  world  by  philosophy  (aofca)  knew 
not  God,  it  pleased  God  by  the  silliness  (jicopca)  of  preaching  to 
save  them  that  believe.  For  the  Jews  demand  a  sign  (miracle), 
and  the  Greeks  seek  after  philosophy  {ao(pia).  But  we  preach 
Christ  crucified,  to  the  Jews  a  stumbling-block,  and  to  the 
Greeks  silliness  (juiopio) ;  but  unto  them  which  are  called,  both 
Jews  and  Greeks,  Christ  the  power  of  God,  and  the  philosophy 
{(Tocfca)  of  God.  For  the  silliness  {jxcopia)  of  God  is  wiser 
{ao(piOT£poc;)  than  men ;  and  the  weakness  of  God  is  stronger 
than  men. 


REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM.  187 

"  For  ye  see  your  calling,  brethren,  liow  tliat  not  many 
pliilosopliic  men  (aoipol)  after  the  flesh,  not  many  powerful, 
not  many  nobly -born  are  called :  but  God  hath  chosen  the 
silly  ijuopd)  to  confound  the  philosophic  {aotpd) ;  and  God  hath 
chosen  the  weak  things  of  the  world  to  confound  the  things 
that  are  mighty ;  and  the  ignoble  things  of  the  world,  and 
things  which  are  utterly  set  at  naught,  yea,  and  the  things 
which  are  not,  to  annul  the  things  that  are :  that  no  flesh 
should  glory  in  His  presence.  But  of  Him  are  ye  in  Christ 
Jesus,  who  of  God  is  made  unto  us  wisdom  (our  philosophy, 
ao(pid),  and  sanctification,  and  redemption."  * 

See  how  to  these  philosophic  Greeks  he  rings  the  changes 
on  the  words  aoipia^  equivalent  to  <pcXoao(pia,  and  ficopla,  the 
proud,  contemptuous  word  of  the  Greek  philosophers  for  all 
that  were  not  trained  in  their  discipline. 

And  above  all,  listen  to  the  triumphal  trumpet-tone  of  the 
last  verse,  wherein  Christ  is  the  completion  of  all  desires  to 
all  nations  of  the  world.  The  Greeks,  as  a  nation,  pursue 
philosophy.  The  facts  of  Christ's  life  and  death  and  doctrine 
are  our  best  philosophy.  The  Jews  seek  for  justification  in 
the  presence  of  the  Law.  He  is  our  justification.  The  na- 
tions of  the  remotest  East  seek  sanctification,  mystical  union 
with  the  all-pure  and  all-holy  God,  cleansing  us  and  making  us 
holy  by  an  indwelling  in  us  of  His  Spiritual  life.  Such  has 
always  been  the  religious  instinct  of  that  region  of  Asia. 
Christ  again  is  our  sanctification.  And  then,  bolder  still,  since 
most  likely  many  of  the  Church  to  which  he  wrote  were  slaves, 
Christ  is  our  redemption,  our  freedom  from  slavery.  No  more 
grandly  audacious  and  sublime  address  than  this  last  verse 
contains  could  have  been  pronounced  by  man. 

AVe  go  on  to  his  conclusion,  in  which  the  reader  will  note 
the  same  constant  recurrence  of  allusions  to  the  Greek  philos- 
ophy. "  My  speech  and  my  preaching  was  not  in  the  persua- 
sive M^ords  of  human  philosophy  {aoipia^)^  but  in  demonstration 
of  the  spirit  and  power :  that  your  faith  should  not  stand  in 
*  I.  Cor.  i.  17-30. 


188  REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM. 

the  philosophy  {<70<pca^)  of  men,  but  in  the  power  of  God. 
Howbeit  we  speak  a  philosophy  (aocpca)  among  those  that  are 
perfect:  yet  not  the  philosophy  {coipiav)  of  this  world,  or  of 
the  leaders  of  this  world,  who  are  brought  to  naught.  But 
we  speak  the  mysterious  philosophy  {ao(piav)  of  God,  that 
which  has  been  hidden,  which  God  ordained  before  the  world 
unto  our  glory :  Avliich  none  of  the  leaders  of  this  world 
knew :  for  had  they  known  it,  they  would  not  have  crucified 
the  Lord  of  glory.  But  as  it  is  written,  eye  hath  not  seen,  nor 
ear  heard,  neither  have  entered  into  the  heart  of  man,  the 
things  which  God  hath  prepared  for  them  that  love  Him."  ^ 
"  Which  things  also  we  speak,  not  in  the  didactic  (or  instruc- 
tive, oidaxTOc^)  words  of  man's  philosophy  ((To<fcai;),  but  in  the 
instructive  {dcdaxrdi^)  words  of  the  Spirit,  comparing  spiritual 
things  with  spiritual."  f 

We  have  placed  these  passages  just  as  they  are,  before  our 
readers,  to  consider  and  examine  them.  And  by  thinking 
upon  them  they  will  get  a  better  insight  into  the  relations  of 
philosophy  and  religion  than  by  many  and  learned  disquisi- 
tions. The  sum  of  it  all  lies  between  two  limits,  two  terminal 
propositions  :  the  first,  that  through  their  philosophy  "  the 
leaders  of  the  world,"  the  great  men  of  Greece  and  Rome,  had 
attained  and  could  attain  no  true  knowledge  of  God  and  man ; 
and  the  last,  that  "  we,"  the  apostles  of  Jesus  Christ,  are  in 
possession  of  the  only  true  philosophy,  that  is,  the  Christian 
faith, — a  high,  mysterious  wisdom,  fully  and  completely  ex- 
plaining all  the  facts  and  problems  of  man's  nature  and  posi- 
tion in  this  world.  And  this  they  were  wont  to  unfold  and 
teach  "among  those  who  are  perfect,"  that  is  to  say,  to  those 
who  had  attained  to  the  highest  privileges  of  the  Christian 
religion. 

Herein  lies  the  relation  of  the  Gospel  to  philosophy.     Not 

in  opposition  to  it  as  sinful.     For  undoubtedly  many  a  poor 

heathen  soul,  in  and  by  means  of  that  same  philosophy,  went 

forth  in  an  anxious  and  earnest  seeking  after  God  and  the  rules 

*  I.  Cor.  ii.  4-9.  \  I.  Cor.  ii.  13. 


REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM.  189 

of  guidance  for  man,  which  in  itself  was  so  far  good.  Such, 
if  we  may  judge  by  what  we  know  of  them,  were  Xenophanes 
of  Elea,  Pythagoras,  Socrates,  and  Plato,  Xenocrates  and 
Panoetius,  thousands,  and  perhaps  myriads  more  in  heathen 
lands,  before  the  coming  of  our  Lord,  honest  and  sincere  fol- 
lowers of  the  light  that  was  given  to  them.  Not,  then,  in 
scorning  the  speculations  of  these  great  souls,  nor  in  a  rude, 
contemptuous  rejection  of  the  cycle  of  Greek  or  Oriental 
philosophic  thought,  does  religious  wisdom  consist ;  but  in  a 
knowledge  that  from  the  day  of  Pentecost  henceforth  the 
whole  range  of  heathen  philosophic  speculation — however  grand 
and  soaring  it  may  be  in  the  sages  of  the  East,  or  subtle  in  its 
analysis  and  logical  in  its  arrangement  and  statement  in  those 
of  Greece — is  rendered  unnecessary,  save  as  an  intellectual 
exercise,  by  a  comprehensive,  all-sufficing  system  of  truth 
revealed  in  the  Scrnptures, — within  the  Church, — hy  the  Spirit, 
embracing  all  truth  concerning  God  and  man,  this  world  and 
the  next,  time  and  eternity. 

After  this  perfect  wisdom,  the  soul  of  man,  for  ages,  had 
been  searching.  The  rising  of  the  sun  has  come, — it  destroys 
not  the  light  of  the  stars.  They  gave  a  true  light  before. 
They  cease  not  now  to  shine.  But  their  faint  rays  are  swal- 
lowed up  in  his  glory.  Such  is  philosophy  before  the  advent 
of  Christ,  such  is  the  light  it  gave  to  man,  compared  to  the 
clear  and  full  glory  of  the  Sun  of  Kighteousness,  now  risen 
upon  the  world. 

This  we  take  to  be  the  true  Christian  position  toward  all 
the  heathen  philosophy.  This  was  preeminently  the  position 
of  the  early  Church.  They  considered  that  all  the  honest 
philosophic  speculations  of  the  heathen  sages  were  instinctive 
searchings  of  the  human  soul  after  the  manifold  verities  of  the 
one  complete  and  perfect  system  of  truth,  which  was  to  be 
revealed  to  man  in  its  appointed  time.  Therefore  they  looked 
with  wonderful  tenderness  upon  these  poor  heathen  sages. 
One  of  them  goes  so  far  as  to  say  that  "Plato  was  in  some 
measure  a  Christian,  inasmuch  as  he  discussed  so  much  the 


190  REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM, 

doctrine  of  the  'Logos,'  and  Christ  is  the  Logos."  *  ^aj,  so 
full  were  they  of  this  feeling,  that  the  Greeks  paint  to  this  day, 
in  the  porches  of  their  churches,  the  ancient  philosophers,f  as 
men  whose  speculations  prepared,  in  the  Greek  world,  the 
human  mind  that  it  should  readily  receive  the  Gospel.  X 

The  Western  or  Latin  Church  stood  upon  diiferent  grounds. 
To  them  the  philosophers  were  hateful  wretches ;  all  philoso- 
phy an  abomination.  It  is  most  amazing  to  read  the  fierce 
invectives  of  Tertullian  against  them.§  The  secret  being,  we 
suppose,  in  the  natural  temper  of  the  Roman  race,  who  were 
of  high  genius  as  organizers  and  administrators,  military  men 
and  politicians,  and  above  all,  as  lawyers ;  but  had  no  specula- 
tive or  meditative  powers,  no  philosophic  capacity  or  ability 
whatsoever.  There  never  was  such  a  thing  of  native  growth 
as  a  Koman  philosophy.     Anything  that  they  had  in  that  way, 

*  Justin  Martyr. 

f  "  The  gentle  spirit  of  the  Greek  fathers  has  granted  to  the  heroes  and 
sages  of  heathen  antiquity  a  place  in  the  Divine  favor,  which  was  long 
denied  in  the  West.  Along  the  porticos  of  Oriental  churches  are  to  he  seen, 
portrayed  upon  the  walls,  the  figures  of  Homer,  Solon,  Thucydides,  Pytha- 
goras, and  Plato,  as  pioneers  preparing  the  way  for  Christianity.  This  is  to 
be  seen  in  the  Churches  of  Mount  Athos,  Iberia,  and  Moscow." — Stanley's 
"  Lectures  on  the  History  of  the  Eastern  Church,"  p.  123. 

:j:  Clement  of  Alexandria  (193-317  a.d.)  says:  "Philosophy  was  the 
schoolmaster  of  the  Greek  race  to  lead  them  to  Christ,  as  the  law  was  of 

the  Jews Philosophy  came   from  God  to  man When  I 

speak,"  he  says,  "  of  philosophy,  I  mean  not  exclusively  the  Aristotelian  or 
Platonic,  or  Stoic,  or  Epicurean.  But  every  tenet  in  every  one  of  the  schools, 
which  with  piety  and  knowledge  instructs  man  in  righteousness." 

Justin  Martyr  (103-165  a.d.)  goes  further  even  than  this.  "  We  have 
learned,"  he  says,  "  and  before  explained,  that  Christ  was  the  first-begotten 
of  God,  being  the  Word  (or  the  Reason)  of  which  all  men  were  partakers. 
They,  then,  who  lived  agreeably  to  the  Reason  were  really  Christians,  even 
if  they  were  reputed  commonly  to  be  atheists,  such  as  Socrates,  Heraclitus, 
and  the  like  among  the  Greeks." — Justin's  "Apology  to  Antoninus,"  chap.  Ixi. 

§  "  The  philosophers  are  the  patriarchs  of  the  heretics.  .  .  .  Plato  is  the 
grocer  (condimentarius)  of  all  the  heretics.  .  .  .  What  has  Athens  to  do  with 
Jerusalem  ?  or  the  Academy  with  the  Church  ?  we  have  no  need  of  any- 
thing beyond  faith,"  etc.,  etc. — Tertullian,  as  quoted  in  Tennemann's  "  Hist. 
of  Philos." 


REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM.  191 

as  we  may  see  in  Cicero,  is  foreign,  imported  from  Greece,  and 
in  them  is  mere  literary  affectation  and  trifling,  a  matter  of 
mere  culture.     They  had  no  earnest  or  sincere  belief  in  philos- 

Also,  we  suppose,  the  distinction  lay  very  much  in  the 
differences  between  the  two  languages ;  the  Greek  being  the 
strongest,  the  clearest,"  the  most  capable  of  expressing  all  the 
subtle  shades  of  thought  and  meaning  that  the  world  has  ever 
seen ;  and  the  Latin,  the  clumsiest,  the  vaguest,  and  the  most 
indistinct.*  We  suppose  that  these  at  the  time  were  the  rea- 
sons for  the  different  way  in  which  the  Church  in  the  East 
and  that  in  the  West  looked  upon  heathen  philosophy.  We 
confess  we  agree  with  the  Greek  Church. 

But  to  return  to  our  subject.  The  doctrine  of  the  Church 
is  the  doctrine  of  original  sin.  She  looks  over  the  world  and 
beholds  the  state  of  man  as  it  actually  is.     She  takes  the  facts 

*  This  matter  of  Christianity  and  the  Roman  language  is  a  strange 
thing.  To  give  examples,  the  word  "  Saviour "  is  easily  expressed  in 
Hebrew  or  Greek.  When  you  come  to  the  Latin,  it  is  a  diflFerent  matter. 
"  Hoc  quantum  est,"  says  Cicero,  speaking  of  this  very  word,  "  ita  magnum 
ut  Latine  uno  verbo  exprimi  non  potest."  The  Greek  word  "  crwry^,"  or 
"  Saviour,"  is  so  weighty  and  comprehensive  in  significance  that  it  cannot  be 
expressed  in  one  Latin  word.^  And  so  hard  was  it  for  the  Latin  Christians 
to  find  a  proper  word  for  it  that  it  was  three  hundred  years  and  more  before 
they  settled  down  upon  the  word  "  salvator  "  !  Before  that  time  they  had 
gone  through  the  clumsiest  set  of  appellations  imaginable.  Consider  the 
Roman  word  "  salus,"  meaning  health,  or  bodily  well-being ;  and  then  im- 
agine "  salutaris,"  "  salutificator,"  "  salvificator,"  the  translations  of  Ter- 
tullian  and  St.  Hilary,  such  as  if,  in  English,  instead  of  "  Christ  the 
Saviour,"  we  used  the  phrase,"  Christ  the  Wholesome,"  "  the  Healthmaker," 
or  "  the  Safemaker"  !  Another  instance  is  the  word  "  fieravoia,''^  expressing 
repentance  exactly  in  the  Greek.  The  Latin  "  me  poenitet "  is  a  mere  com- 
monplace phrase  of  social  politeness,  expressing  merely  regret.  In  fact, 
the  idea  of  repentance  did  not  belong  in  any  shape  to  the  Roman.  He 
might  make  a  mistake  in  war,  or  politics,  or  law,  and  "regret  it,"  but  repent- 
ance, in  any  point  of  view,  approaching  to  the  Christian  idea,  he  had  no 
notion  of.  Therefore,  to  express  the  word,  St.  Jerome  had  to  say  "  facitote 
penitentiam."  The  Latin  verb,  by  itself,  would  not  have  conveyed  the 
Christian  sense. 

1  Cicero  against  Verres,  cap.  Ixiii. 


192  REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM. 

as  they  are,  and  does  not  shrink  from  confessing  them  to  exist 
in  their  full  degree,  though  she  will  not  exaggerate  them,  or 
declare  that  man  upon  the  earth  is  a  malignant  demon,  or  a 
filthy  brute-beast  endued  with  reason.  She  sees  him  as  a 
man  still,  made  in  the  image  of  God,  although  infected  with 
sin,  as  he  is  born  into  this  world, — although  "  very  far  gone," 
quam  longissime,  as  far  as  possible  {as  far  as  he  can  he,  heing 
still  a  man)  from  original  righteousness.  She  accepts  as  true 
all  the  facts  of  man's  vice  and  criminality,  his  ignorance  and 
pollution.  She  assigns  the  reason  for  them  in  the  flaw  and 
depravation  of  the  nature  of  every  son  of  Adam  born  into  this 
world  naturally,  and  in  the  temptations  of  Satan,  and  declares 
the  remedy  to  be  in  regeneration  through  Christ  our  Lord,  in  its 
full  and  complete  sense,  and  in  justification  by  a  real  and  living 
personal  Christian  faith. 

She  does  not  declare  this  sinfulness  to  arise  spontaneously 
in  the  man,  or  to  be  the  result  of  the  natural  powers  of  sym- 
pathy and  imitation,  but  to  be  a  birth-sin,  a  depravation  that 
is  born  with  us,  and  coeval  with  our  being.  And  backward 
and  upward,  against  the  descending  stream  of  time,  she  traces 
it,  until  she  comes  to  the  first  parents  of  our  race,  the  single 
pair  from  whom  all  men  are  descended. 

Two  states,  therefore,  are  seen  at  different  times  in  the  history 
of  man.  First,  the  original  state,  wherein  the  man  came  from 
the  hand  of  his  Maker,  pure  and  holy  and  unstained,  perfect  in 
all  his  faculties  and  in  all  his  surroundings :  "  Adam,  the  son 
of  God."  *  And  this  son  of  God  was  placed  in  Paradise,  the 
dwelling  appropriate  to  his  nature,  and  his  gifts  and  faculties. 
And  then,  again,  we  see  him  in  the  second  state.  Adam 
fallen  into  sin,  Adam  driven  forth  from  Paradise.  See  how 
these  contrast.  The  first  Adam,  the  son  of  God,  in  Paradise  ; 
the  same  Adam,  fallen  from  God,  in  a  state  of  sin,  driven  forth 
from  Paradise ;  and  all  his  descendants,  naturally  born  of  the 
race  of  Adam,  tainted  by  the  infection  of  sin,  born  into  this 
world,  which  surely  is  not  Paradise. 

*  St.  Luke,  m.  38. 


REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM.  193 

Then,  again,  we  behold,  as  a  fact  of  history,  the  Eternal 
Word,  the  Everlasting  Son  of  God,  born  into  this  world.  He 
becomes  incarnate,  man  born  of  a  woman,  assuming  to  Himself 
and  uniting  with  his  Godhead  a  sinless  humanity.  So  does 
He,  the  Son  of  God,  become  the  Son  of  Man,  our  brother  in 
the  flesh.  And  this  He  remains  unchangeably  and  eternally. 
His  work  beginning  with  His  incarnation,  going  on  through 
His  life  on  earth.  His  agony  and  His  bloody  sweat.  His  cross 
and  passion,  His  descent  into  Hades,  His  ascension  into  heaven, 
is  consummated  and  completed  for  man  by  His  session  at  the 
right  hand  of  God  as  Prophet,  Priest,  and  King.  Then,  sent 
by  Him,  the  Holy  Spirit  comes  down  upon  the  earth  and 
organizes  the  spiritual  kingdom,  the  Church  of  God. 

The  second  Adam,  the  life-giving  Spirit,  has  thus  com- 
pleted His  work  for  man.  And,  henceforth,  all  men  can 
become  the  sons  of  God.  The  second  Adam,  in  regeneration, 
repairs  that  which  was  lost  to  man  by  means  of  the  first  Adam. 
The  new  life  of  Christ,  our  brother  and  our  Lord,  and  the 
Church,  the  sphere  of  that  new  life,  repairs  for  us  the  death  in 
sin,  the  expulsion  from  Paradise. 

Is  not  this  the  Scripture  representation  of  man's  original 
state,  man's  fallen  state,  and  our  Lord's  position  as  the  last 
Adam  ?  If  this  be  so,  as  most  surely  it  is,  can  we  not  clearly 
see  that  to  our  regeneration  there  is  needed  just  what  we  have 
said — the  life  of  Christ,  the  perfected  and  glorified  God-man  ; 
and,  secondly,  the  Holy  Catholic  Church  upon  earth,  as  we 
preach  it,  as  the  sphere  of  that  life.  Nothing  less  than  this 
can  heal  the  mortal  wound  of  sin  and  repair  the  loss  of 
Paradise. 

And  this,  our  new  birth  in  Christ,  is  not  complete  here  upon 
earth,  but  only  to  reach  its  full  bloom  and  perfect  glory  in 
heaven.  The  Church  here  on  earth  will  always  have  more  or 
less  imperfection  mingled  with  it;  only  in  heaven  will  it  be 
"the  glorious  Church  without  spot  or  wrinkle,  or  any  such 
thing."  Only  there  shall  we  arrive  at  "  the  fulness  of  the  stat- 
ure of  the  perfect  man  in  Christ ;  "  for  then  we  shall  be  "  sons 
13 


194  REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM. 

of  God,  as  being  sons  of  the  resurrection."  *  "  When  I  awake 
up  after  Thy  likeness,  I  shall  be  satisfied  with  it."f  But 
with  the  fact  of  original  sin,  there  are  ideas  and  conse- 
quences connected  which  go  still  deeper  into  the  thoughts  and 
interests  of  all  men  than  even  these  which  we  have  discussed 
in  this  chapter.  These,  therefore,  we  pui'pose  to  examine  in 
our  next. 

*  Luke,  XX.  36.  t  Psalm  xvii.  16. 


CHAPTER  Y. 

"We  have  seen,  therefore,  that  in  man,  as  born  into  this  world 
by  nature,  there  is  a  very  great  defect,  a  degradation  from  his 
original  state  of  being.  This  is  threefold  :  first,  in  himself,  the 
infection  of  original  sin,  an  hereditary  depi»vation  of  all  his 
faculties  of  body  and  soul ;  secondly,  in  that  he  is  banished  from 
Paradise,  the  sphere  of  existence  of  the  unfallen  man ;  but,  thirdly 
and  lastly,  there  is,  distinct  from  these,  a  very  great  loss, — that 
of  the  supernatural  gifts  which  man  had  in  that  blessed  abode. 
For  as  man  is  composed,  even  now,  of  the  spiritual  and  the 
material,  so  was  it  with  man  in  his  original  state.  But  now  the 
material  predominates  in  a  great  measure  over  the  spiritual,  and 
our  bodily  senses  being  awake  and  intense,  the  sense  in  us  ot 
spiritual  things  is  heavy  and  dull.  In  fact,  in  our  present  state 
of  being,  we  discern  the  material  world  intuitively  and  directly, 
and  with  no  mental  effort.  Nay,  the  material  sphere  surrounds 
us,  presses  upon  us,  tends  wholly  to  engross  and  occupy  us ; 
but  that  which  is  spiritual  we  only  come  to  by  an  effort  ot 
reflection  and  by  continuous  thought  and  meditation,  or  else 
by  the  persevering  suggestion  of  others. 

But  in  the  original  state  of  man  it  was  not  so.  The  bodily 
senses,  although  perfect,  had  no  such  tendency  to  preoccupy  and 
engross  the  whole  attention  as  they  have  now,  but  were  under 
complete  control,  and  man's  spiritual  perception  was  immedi- 
ately awake  to  spiritual  things.  As  now  there  is  an  intuition 
of  the  senses,  by  which  the  ideas  of  the  material  world  are  at 
once  conveyed  to  the  mind  without  the  intervention  of  any 
.reasoning  or  the  effort  of  any  reflection,  so  was  it  then  with 
the  spiritual  powers  of  man.  The  spiritual  senses  were  open 
to  the  spiritual  world.     Hence  was  man,  by  the  gift  of  God,  in 


196  REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM. 

immediate  communion  with  the  whole  spiritual  world.  As  to 
his  material  senses  now,  all  the  material  world  is  in  relation  ;  so 
to  man's  spiritual  sense  in  Paradise,  the  whole  spiritual  world 
was  open, — direct  communion  was  given  him  with  the  uncreated 
and  the  created  spiritual  world,  which  is  now  to  him  the  world 
of  the  unseen.  In  this  he  had  full  knowledge,  full  light,  full 
grace,  full  glory, — all  lying  around  man, — all  paljDable  and  tan- 
gible, if  we  may  use  the  metaphor,  to  his  spiritual  perception, — 
all  occupying  and  immediately  pressing  upon  his  spiritual  sense. 
This  is  what  the  theologians  of  our  Church  call  the  supernatural 
gifts  of  man  in  Paradise ;  and  the  loss  of  these  gifts  makes  up 
the  last  injury  to  man  by  the  fall.  The  deadly  wound  to  his 
nature  and  being  of  original  sin,  the  casting  out  from  Para- 
dise, the  original  sj^here  of  man's  existence,  and  the  loss  of  the 
supernatural  gifts, — these  .three  make  up  the  whole  circle  of 
man's  injuries  and  losses  by  the  fall.  * 

* "  And  this  brings  us  to  the  head  of  our  inquiry  concerning  the  first 
covenant  and  the  state  of  man  before  the  fall.  The  Church  of  God,  then 
(if  we  may  gather  its  judgment  from  the  writings  of  the  most  approved 
doctors  thereof  in  their  several  ages),  hath  constantly  believed  and  asserted 
these  two  things : 

"  Firstly,  that  Paradise  was  to  Adam  a  type  of  heaven,  and  that  the  never- 
ending  life  of  happiness  promised  to  our  first  parents,  if  they  had  continued 
obedient  and  grown  up  to  perfection  under  that  economy  wherein  they  were 
placed,  should  not  have  been  continued  in  the  earthly  Paradise,  but  only 
have  commenced  there,  and  been  perpetuated  in  a  higher  state :  that  is  to 
say,  after  such  a  trial  of  their  obedience  as  should  seem  sufiicient  to  the 
Divine  wisdom,  they  should  have  been  translated  from  earth  to  heaven. 

"  Secondly  (which  is  indeed  a  consequent  of  the  former  happiness),  that 
our  first  parents,  besides  the  seeds  of  natural  virtue  and  religion  sown  in 
their  minds  in  their  very  creation,  and  besides  the  natural  innocence  and 
rectitude  wherein  also  they  were  created,  were  endowed  with  certain  gifts 
and  powers  supernatural,  infused  by  the  spirit  of  God,  and  that  in  these 
gifts  their  reflection  consisted.  These  two  hypotheses  are  by  many  very 
learned  men,  with  too  great  boldness,  questioned,  and  yet  they  seem  to  me  the 
two  main  pillars  of  the  Catholic  doctrine  concerning  original  sin. 

"  And,  again,  I  do  profess  that  I  can  by  no  means  understand  how  that 
doctrine  can  be  intelligibly  explained  or  rationally  defended,  otherwise  than 
upon  the  foundation  of  the  said  hypotheses." — Bishop  Bull's  "  Discourse  on  the 
State  of  Man  before  the  Fall,"  pp.  6,  7,  8,  and  130. 


REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM.  197 

"We  do  not  dwell  upon  them  at  full  length,  for  this  is  not  a 
treatise  upon  the  fall  of  man.  But  let  any  thoughtful  man 
consider  the  internal  facts  of  his  own  being,  the  narrative  in 
Genesis,  and  the  truths  of  the  Gospel,  and  the  more  deeply  and 
earnestly  he  meditates,  the  more  closely  he  w^ill  come  to  these 
doctrines.  Let  him  take  the  Holy  Scriptures,  and  no  other 
doctrines  than  these  of  man's  fall,  and  man's  wounds  and  losses 
will  satisfy  and  fully  represent  all  the  declarations  of  Holy 
Writ.  And  'corresponding  to,  and  supplying  these  losses,  he 
will  find  asserted  in  Holy  Writ  the  gift  of  life  in  Christ  our 
Kedeemer,  the  institution  of  a  Holy  Catholic  Church,  the 
sphere  and  world  of  that  new  life,  and  lastly,  that  in  it  are  all 
the  gifts  of  grace  that  are  required  to  sustain  and  feed  the  new 
life  in  the  new-born  son  of  God. 

The  sum  of  the  whole  doctrine  of  the  fall  of  man,  therefore, 
is  this  :  that  God  created  man  perfect  in  his  being,  placed  him 
in  Paradise,  and  gave  him  manifold  gifts  of  grace  and  knowl- 
edge in  addition  to  the  personal  endowments  wherewith  he 
had  adorned  his  nature ;  and  man,  by  the  temptation  of 
Satan,  and  the  act  of  his  own  free-will,  fell  from  that  state,  and 
upon  his  posterity,  as  well  as  upon  himself,  he  brought  the 
consequences  of  that  fall. 

Hence,  apart  from  grace,  the  being  which  originally  was 
full  to  overflowing  of  spiritual  knowledge,  tends  to  sink  down- 
ward into  brutal  ignorance. 

Secondly,  the  human  being,  whose  whole  faculties  and 
powers  were  under  the  perfect  control  of  the  reason  and  the 
will,  so  that  all  were  directed  aright  to  the  ends  appropriate  to 
them,  finds  now  his  greatest  misery  in  the  insubordination  of 
his  nature,  in  the  rebellion,  within  his  being,  of  natural  powers 
and  desires,  which,  rightly  guided  to  right  ends,  are  good.  For 
what  else  are  tJie  greatest  crimes,  the  greatest  vices,  the  greatest 
sorrows  of  the  man,  than  the  insubordination  and  wrong  action 
of  powers,  appetites,  passions,  and  desires  which,  rightly  guided 
toward  the  proper  ends  and  objects,  and  governed  by  God's 
laws,  are  not  only  innocent,  but  good  ? 


198  REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM. 

Thirdly,  pure  as  he  was  ori^naUy,  and  holy,  he  feels  him- 
self polluted.  His  nature  was  created  immaculate ;  it  is  now 
stained  by  evil. 

Fourthly,  upright  before  his  Maker,  he  stood  originally  in 
conscious  innocence  ;  he  is  now  guilty. 

And  fifthly,  shame  and  fear  and  the  sting  of  remorse 
perpetually  abide  with, him. 

All  these  are  consequences  of  the  fall ;  all  these  the  in- 
heritance of  every  son  of  Adam  by  nature.  The  results  they 
are  of  the  corruption  and  depravation  of  the  nature  of  every 
human  being  everywhere,  in  all  conditions,  in  all  ages,  and  under 
all  climates,  only  by  the  faith  of  Christ  our  Lord  to  be  re- 
paired. In  Him  alone  our  ignorance  is  illumined.  By  His 
law  and  His  grace  only  the  disorder  of  our  being,  the  rebellion 
and  tumult  of  our  passions  and  appetites,  can  be  controlled  and 
bridled ;  by  His  sacrifice  only  is  our  guilt  forgiven ;  by  His 
cleansing  Spirit  only  our  pollution  removed ;  and  the  sting  of 
conscience  abated  by  habitual  faith  in  His  merits.  These  five 
— ignorance,  insubordination,  guilt  before  God,  pollution  in 
our  own  eyes  and  in  the  sight  of  God,  and  the  sting  of  con- 
science— are,  in  the  language  of  theologians,  the  consequences 
to  man  of  sin.  Are  they  not  in  existence  over  the  whole 
world,  and  the  cause  of  misery  to  every  human  being  ?  Does 
not  the  experience  of  every  human  being  testify  to  the  ex- 
istence of  these  vipers,  these  harpies  of  the  human  soul,  and  to 
the  agony  they  cause  to  man  ?  And  can  we  not  go  onward 
and  upward  from  these  miseries  in  the  man,  and  see  the  source 
and  fountain  of  them  all  in  the  fall  of  man,  the  hereditary  in- 
fection and  the  losses  which  exist  in  man's  being  and  surround- 
ings from  the  moment  of  his  birth  ? 

Now,  if  regeneration  be  a  real  and  true  change  for  the 
remedy  of  original  sin  and  its  consequences,  we  shall  find  in  it 
a  counteracting  influence  to  all  these.  We  shall  find  that  the 
regenerate  man,  who  lives  on  faith,  is  enlightened,  day  after 
day,  with  new  spiritual  knowledge,  dispersing  more  and  more 
his  ignorance.     We  shall  find  that  he  gets,  day  by  day,  a  more 


REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM.  199 

permanent  control  over  himself,  habitually ;  that  the  sense  of 
his  pardon  before  God  constantly  increases ;  that  his  inner 
nature  is  purified  perpetually  by  all  the  means  of  grace ;  and 
that  the  sting  of  remorse  being  removed,  more  and  more  has 
he  in  his  soul  a  calm  faith,  a  sure  hope  of  heaven,  through  his 
trust  in  Jesus  Christ  his  Saviour,  and  an  increasing  love  toward 
God  and  man.  And,  that  all  these  remedies  for  the  conse- 
quences of  original  sin  are  due  to  his  regeneration  in  its  two 
aspects, — first,  as  looking  to  the  inner  life  of  Christ  implanted 
in  his  being  by  the  Spirit  of  God ;  secondly,  as  regards  his 
entrance  within  the  Church,  the  sphere  of  that  life  wherein 
he  is  placed. 

The  Church,  then,  is  a  sphere  and  world  of  manifold  means, 
all  preestablished  and  provided,  all  tending  to  heal  man's  wounds 
that  have  been  inflicted  upon  his  nature  by  sin.  Is  ignorance,  spir- 
itual and  mental,  the  first  of  those  wounds  ?  Then  the  Church 
of  God  is  a  sphere  of  manifold  teaching.  Is  insubordination, 
disorder  of  nature,  rebellion  against  the  law  of  his  own  being 
and  of  God,  another  wound  ?  Then  do  all  the  means  of  grace 
in  the  Church  tend  to  restore  to  him  self-control,  to  subdue  his 
diseased  and  perverted  nature  to  the  law  of  God,  to  train  his 
mind  and  actions  in  Christian  principle  and  Christian  habits. 
Is  he  guilty  before  God  and  obliged  to  punishment  ?  Then  all 
the  means  of  grace  are  means  of  conveying,  to  the  man  who 
receives  them  with  a  living  faith,  the  merits  of  Christ's  death 
and  sacrifice,  the  absolution  and  pardon  of  his  sins.  And,  as 
our  Catechism  has  it,  the  very  state  of  a  baptized  man  is  a 
"  state  of  grace,"  a  "  state  of  salvation."  And,  lastly,  all  the 
influences  that  are  brought  to  bear  upon  him,  when  once  he  is 
within  the  Church  of  God,  all  tend  to  purify  and  cleanse  his 
soul,  to  remove  the  sting  of  remorse,  and  to  give  him  peace 
before  God. 

We  are  aware  that  religious  men  have  become  so  subjective, 
so  occupied  with  their  own  internal  emotions,  as  to  forget  and 
despise  the  outward  means  which  God  employs  to  bear  upon 
them ;  nay,  to  call  the  mere  internal  emotions  of  their  own 


200  REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM. 

bodily  frame  by  the  most  solemn  and  sacred  names.*  This  shall 
be  our  excuse,  if  we  need  any,  for  showing  in  detail,  and  prac- 
tically to  the  regenerate  man,  how  the  means  of  grace  within 
the  Church  tend  to  heal  the  wounds  of  sin. 

At  once,  and  in  a  moment,  regeneration  takes  place,  and 
the  regenerated  man  is  transferred  from  the  state  of  nature 
wherein  he  was  born — an  exile  from  God,  cast  out  from  his 
Father's  house,  wounded  and  diseased — into  that  new  world  of 
grace.  And  then  the  vital  air  breathes  upon  him,  healing  and 
restorative  powers  are  around  him,  the  life  that  is  within  him 
is  fed  and  cherished,  and  grows  beneath  the  influences  that 
come  on  him  from  without.  There  is,  to  those  within  the 
Church  of  God,  a  growth  in  grace,  a  ripening  and  maturation 
for  heaven, — a  long  year,  a  spring,  a  summer,  and  a  harvest 
season,  for  the  plant  of  God's  planting  in  His  garden  here  on 
earth.  Is  it  not  most  true  that  the  Church,  the  outward 
sphere  in  which  we  are  placed,  has  manifold  powers  and  gifts 
and  graces  that  bear  upon  and  form  the  regenerate  man  during 
his  whole  course  in  this  world,  from  his  new  birth  until  his 
death?  And  all  of  them  tend  to  heal  in  him  the  wounds  of 
sin,  to  ripen  the  husbandry  of  God  for  the  harvest  in  heaven. 

We  have  these  consequences  laid  out,  in  number  and  order, 
above.  We  shall  look,  therefore,  in  the  same  order,  at  the 
means  that  are  within  the  Church  of  God  for  remedying  and 
healing  these  wounds. 

And,  first,  we  shall  consider  the  tendency  of  all  her  means 
of  grace  to  illuminate  man's  spiritual  ignorance,  and  to  give  him 
spiritual  knowledge.  We  make  no  apology  for  this.  We  say 
that  the  Church  is  an  educational  and  teaching  institute  to  the 
regenerate  man  through  his  whole  course ;  that  it  gives  knowl- 
edge of  the  most  exact  and  definite  kind;  that  all  its  means 
of  grace  are  means  of  spiritual  instruction,  intended  to  remedy 
the  spiritual  ignorance  under  which  man  is  fallen  and  sunk  by 

*  "  I  have  often  been  deceived  in  times  past,  and  erroneously  called 
animal  spirits  joy  in  the  Holy  Ghost." — "Journal  of  Henry  Martyn,"  vol.  ii. 
p.  325. 


REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM.  201 

reason  of  sin.  We  say,  moreover,  that  this  is  so  plain  a  fact 
that  it  is  only  the  dulness  and  inattention  of  habitual  thought- 
lessness that  can  hide  it  from  us.  It  only  needs  the  serious- 
minded  to  have  it  pointed  out  to  them,  that  they  may  recognize 
and  realize  the  immensity  of  the  knowledge  that  is  given  in 
the  Church  of  Christ  to  the  regenerated  man,  and  the  urgency 
and  persistency  with  which  it  is  constantly  pressed  upon  him. 
Only,  let  a  man  think  for  a  moment,  and  at  once  he  can  see 
that  the  remedy  for  man's  ignorance  is  in  the  Church  of  Christ 
upon  earth,  established  by  God  as  a  sphere  of  spiritual 
teaching. 

We  have  been  so  accustomed  to  Christian  knowledge  from 
our  childhood,  that  we  hardly  think  how  peculiar  a  blessing 
this  is  of  Christianity,  as  distinguished  from  all  other  religions. 
Now  look  at  this  one  fact.  In  none  of  the  pagan  religions  of 
Greece  and  Rome  was  there  any  such  thing  as  a  creed,  a  dis- 
tinct and  comprehensive  form  of  doctrine  and  knowledge  to  be 
received  in  faith.  In  none  of  them  was  there  a  distinctly 
sanctioned  rule  of  morals,  such  as  the  Ten  Commandments  in 
the  Christian  sense  is  to  us.  In  none  of  them  was  there  any 
book  professing  itself  to  be  a  revelation,  and  standing  in  the  same 
relation  to  man's  heart  and  intellect  as  the  volumes  of  the  Old 
and  the  New  Testament  do  to  the  Christian.  And  this  was  to 
Julian  the  emperor,  the  leader  of  the  pagan  reaction  in  the 
fourth  century,  the  great  difficulty  ;  he  could  find  for  his  new 
sesthetic  heathenism  no  Bible,  no  creed,  no  royal  law.  The 
mythology  of  Homer,  the  speculations  of  Plato,  the  forms 
of  heathen  sacrifice  were,  at  best,  but  poor  substitutes  for 
that  definite  and  manifold  instruction  and  knowledge  with 
which  the  Christian  religion  surrounds  the  Christian  from 
childhood. 

Nay,  look  away  from  Greece  and  Rome  to  the  Eastern 
nations  of  the  Indo-Gennanic  race,  kindred  in  blood  and  genius 
to  ourselves,  and  there  you  will  find  that  facts  which  are 
familiar  to  the  Christian  child, — as  taught  by  clergy  and  cate- 
cliists  to  all   Christians,    both  children  and  adults,  from  the 


202  REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM. 

beginning,  and  received  and  accepted  as  nndoubtingly  as  the 
letters  of  the  alphabet, — M^ere  unknown  and  undreamed  of  by 
great  poets  and  sages  and  men  of  genius ;  the  personality 
and  unity  of  God,  the  creation  of  the  world,  the  nature  of 
moral  evil,  unknown  to  them !  and  in  their  stead,  a  mass  of 
vague,  indistinct,  poetic  speculations,  but  no  definite  teaching, 
no  clear  knowledge,  no  documents  speaking  with  the  same 
historic  and  doctrinal  autliority  to  poor  and  rich,  learned  and 
unlearned,  as  the  Scriptures  of  the  Old  and  the  New  Testament, 
the  Creeds,  the  Decalogue,  the  Lord's  Prayer,  the  Liturgies,  do 
to  all  persons  that  are  within  the  Christian  Churcli. 

In  fact,  the  character  of  the  Christian  revelation,  when 
compared  with  all  pagan  religions  is,  that  it  is  a  teaching  and 
educational  institution.  It  has  been  such  to  the  w^hole  world, 
such  it  is  to  this  day  to  the  man  who,  with  honest  faith,  pro- 
fesses Christ's  name  in  holy  baptism.  "  Go  ye,"  says  our  Lord, 
"make  disciples  of  all  the  nations,  baptizing  them  in  the 
name  of  the  Father,  and  of  the  Son,  and  of  the  Holy  Ghost : 
teaching  them  to  keep  (in  memory  and  in  practice)  all  things, 
as  many  as  I  have  enjoined  upon  you."  * 

And  His  command  has  been  in  process  of  fulfilment  in  the 
Church  from  the  earliest  period  of  Christianity  down  to  the 
present  time.  See  our  great  code  of  instruction,  the  Holy 
Scriptures,  the  Bible,  the  inspired  volume  of  Holy  Writ,  con- 
taining the  truest  history,  the  tenderest  and  the  sublimest 
poetry,  legislative  enactments  of  the  grandest  and  most  scien- 
tific kind.  All  these  merits,  in  the  mere  point  of  knowledge, 
are  conceded  by  all  men.  And  then  in  reference  to  man's 
spiritual  state,  see  what  a  flood  of  light  it  sheds  upon  those 
problems  of  his  being  which  have  so  tormented  the  race. 
Look  how  it  lifts  up  the  curtain  from  his  past  history,  and  by 
the  facts  of  the  fall  which  it  reveals,  and  of  hereditary  sin,  and 
then  of  the  incarnation  and  atonement  of  Christ  our  Lord, 
gives  tlie  full  solution  of  all  the  mystery  of  man's  being. 

Again,  see  the  unseen  and  the  future  unveiled,  the  spiritual 
*  St.  Matt,  xxviii.  19. 


REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM.  203 

world,  the  mystery  of  the  existence  of  God  in  the  Holy  Trinity, 
the  Father  Uncreate,  the  Only-begotten  Son,  the  Eternal  and 
Personal  Spirit  of  the  Father  and  the  Son,  the  primal  fact 
of  all  existence,  in  express  words  definitely  revealed.  The 
hierarchy  of  angels  shown  to  us,  the  temptations  of  Satan  and 
evil  spirits  manifested  to  us,  the  reign  and  final  victory  of  the 
incarnate  God,  through  the  whole  history  of  the  world,  and 
the  perpetual  progress  of  the  human  race  by  Him,  onward 
throughout  the  ages,  until  Satan  is  bound,  and  the  world  and 
man  reach  that  state  which  all  hearts  upon  earth  long  after, 
dream  of,  and  think  possible. 

Again,  see  in  it  the  declaration,  as  a  fact,  of  the  future 
judgment,  that  ultimate  and  final  solution  of  all  the  enigmas 
of  life,  in  which  the  freedom  of  man,  the  power  of  God's 
benevolence,  and  His  justice, — all  things  in  the  course  of  this 
world  and  in  the  secret  thoughts  of  man's  heart  that  seem  to 
be  at  variance,  come  together  and  are  reconciled.  Let  us  look 
at  the  Holy  Scriptures  merely  in  the  light  of  the  knowledge 
they  convey  to  all  men,  of  all  climates,  all  races,  all  ages, — and 
comparing  them  with  the  loftiest  products  of  the  pagan  intel- 
lect, when  completely  isolated  and  apart  from  Christianity  and 
its  influences  and  traditions,  and  it  would  seem,  in  the  one  case, 
as  if  we  were  standing  in  the  darkest  morning  gloom  before 
the  break  of  day,  and  in  the  other,  as  if  in  the  new-born  world 
of  Paradise  we  were  looking  over  an  unfallen  earth  and  sea, 
toward  the  midday  splendors  of  a  cloudless  sun.  Such  an 
overflowing  fountain  of  definite  and  exact  knowledge  of  all 
kinds  have  we  within  the  Church  for  man,  in  the  Scriptures 
of  the  Old  and  the  New  Testament,  the  common  inheritance  of 
all  Christians,  young  and  old,  priests  and  people. 

And,  then,  in  the  Creeds  of  the  Church,  her  Services,  her 
Catechism,  her  Articles,  we  see  the  system  by  wliich  this 
knowledge  is  methodised,  is  arranged,  is  taught.  Look  at  the 
catechising  of  the  young  by  parents  and  teachers  and  clergy. 
See  the  preaching  of  the  clergy  in  the  Church,  and  their 
pastoral  instructions  from  house  to  house ;  hear  the  con  versa- 


204  REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM. 

ti on  of  pious  friends  and  relatives.  What  is  all  this  bnt  the 
grand  educational  system  of  Cliristianity,  year  by  year, 
Sunday  by  Sunday,  week-day  by  week-day,  almost  hour  by 
hour,  going  on  within  the  sphere  of  the  Church,  as  a  remedy 
for  the  tendency  of  man  to  sink  into  God-forgetting  ignorance, 
mental  and  spiritual. 

But,  when  w^e  come  to  consider  the  influence  and  the 
operation  of  the  litui'gy,  then  especially  it  is  that  we  see  the 
workings  of  the  Church  as  an  educational  institute.  Examine 
first  the  matter  of  it.  See  what  a  multitude  of  propositions 
there  are  in  it  concerning  God  and  man  and  the  world  of  sense, 
in  their  being  and  various  relations,  all  laid  down  definitely 
and  distinctly,  varying  not  in  word  or  letter  from  year  to  year. 
Look  at  these  reverently  confessed  in  the  Church,  as  in  the 
presence  of  God,  by  the  priest  and  the  people,  upon  no  other 
ground  than  that  of  divine  authority.  And  this  going  on 
through  the  whole  Church-year, — the  same  material  of  faith  and 
doctrine,  in  manifold  forms,  repeated  over  again  by  the  same 
people  and  the  same  priest,  in  the  same  house,  at  least  one 
hundred  and  four  times  every  year.  What  is  this  but  a  sys- 
tematic teaching  of  the  most  distinct,  copious,  and  impressive 
kind  ? 

And,  when  to  this  is  added  the  liturgic  variety  of  Fast  and 
Festival,  of  Baptism  and  Burial,  of  Confirmation  and  the 
Holy  Eucharist,  all  liturgic,  all  in  the  vernacular  language,  its 
educational  weight  and  efficiency  is  still  more  distinctly  felt. 
The  lessons  in  the  Service  from  the  Old  and  the  New  Testa- 
ment, the  Gospels  and  Epistles  read  in  the  ears  of  the  people 
assembled  there  in  the  Church  to  hear  them,  the  responsive  use 
of  the  Psalms, — all  these  are  parts  of  the  one  great  educational 
system  by  which  the  Church  counteracts  man's  tendency  to 
sink  into  ignorance, — by  which  she  pours  perpetual  light  upon 
his  darkness. 

But  all  these  influences  which  are  manifested  in  the  sphere 
of  man's  spiritual  life,  the  Church,  and  in  its  working,  so  fully 
and  evidently,  if  men  would  merely  open  their  eyes  to  see  and 


REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM.  205 

consider  their  effects  and  powers, — these  are  rather  results 
of  the  action  of  two  powers  (the  one  outside  the  man,  the 
other  within  him)  by  which,  as  the  active  cause  and  as  the 
recipient  means,  man  is  new  born  by  the  Holy  Spirit  of  God, 
and  the  living  faith  of  the  man. 

He  that  shall  look  to  our  Saviour's  own  words  will  find 
that  the  Spirit  is  described  by  Him  as  a  personal  being,  as 
God,  as  the  organizing  and  vitalizing  power  of  the  Church, 
which  maintains  its  continuous  existence  in  this  world  by  per- 
petually adding  to  its  body  the  sons  of  men  by  spiritual  re- 
generation. And,  again.  He  is  constantly  described  as  the 
teacher  and  the  instructor  of  the  people  of  God, — "  He  shall 
teach  you  all  things,  and  recall  to  your  mind  all  things ;  as 
many  as  you  have  heard  of  me."*  The  Holy  Scriptures  are 
inspired  by  Him.  He  speaks  to  us  as  to  the  children  of  God. 
To  the  soul  of  the  Christian  He  is  a  prophetic  instructor  and 
guide,  leading  him  onward  in  the  darkness  of  this  world.  All 
these  educational  influences  of  which  we  have  spoken  before  as 
operating  in  the  Church,  all  these  are  but  the  varied  means  by 
which,  in  the  Church,  the  Spirit  instructs  and  guides  those  who, 
by  His  action,  have  been  made  members  of  Christ  and  children 
of  God. 

We  have  left  now  but  a  small  space  to  speak  of  a  great 
theme, — the  power  of  a  living  personal  faith  in  receiving  and 
learning  the  lessons  of  the  Spirit  within  the  Church.  We 
have  said  that  the  heathen  religions  had  no  creed.  ISTor  had 
they  any  knowledge  concerning  the  power  of  a  personal  faith.f 

*  John,  xiv.  26. 

f  We  find  that  this  doctrine  of  faith  was  to  the  heathen  one  of  the  most 
incomprehensible  and  the  most  misunderstood  of  all  the  doctrines  of  Chris- 
tianity, and,  therefore,  the  most  ridiculed  by  them.  No  wonder,  standing 
as  it  does,  on  the  part  of  the  Christian  personally,  between  this  present  life 
and  the  world  unseen,  as  the  sense  that  understands  and  explains  them 
both,  that  it  should  be  thought  a  vague  fancy  by  the  heathen  philosophers. 
"  Our  doctrine  of  faitli,"  says  Clement  of  Alexandria  (about  a.d.  220),  "  the 
Greeks  perpetually  jeer  at  and  slander  as  a  frivolous  and  barbarian  doctrine." 
"  The  pagans,"  says  Rufinus,  in  the  fourth  century, "  usually  object  that  our  re- 
ligion rests  solely  upon  faith,  as  if  it  were  deficient  in  reason  and  argument." 


206  REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM. 

Yet  look  at  the  Scriptures  upon  the  matter  of  faith.  It  is,  in 
the  Tnan,  the  sole  means  by  which,  in  the  state  of  nature,  he 
can  receive  spiritual  regeneration  and  enter  within  the  king- 
dom of  heaven.  And,  again,  when  he  has  become  a  son  of 
God,  it  is  the  only  hand  by  which  he  can  grasp  the  gifts  given 
him  in  the  Church ;  the  only  eye  by  which  he  can  behold 
them.  Indeed,  is  not  faith,  in  ordinary  life,  the  basis  of  all 
knowledge,  all  aiFection,  all  commerce,  all  intercourse  of  man 
with  man,  all  society  ?  See,  then,  in  the  Church  of  Christ,  the 
man  illumined,  taught,  instructed,  day  by  day.  It  is  by  the  Holy 
Spirit  that  all  this  is  done,  the  Spirit  employing  and  direct- 
ing all  the  means  for  this  purpose.  And,  again,  it  is  the  living 
personal  faith  in  the  man  that  learns  and  apprehends  making 
use  of  all  these  means,  and  between  them  full  knowledge 
grows  and  increases  from  day  to  day. 

Of  course  this  is  but  one  point  of  view  in  which  the  Church 
of  God  upon  earth  may  be  viewed.  It  has  many  other  aspects, 
as,  for  instance,  the  family  of  God  upon  earth  through  Jesus 
Christ  our  Lord,  the  kingdom  of  God  through  Him  who  is  our 
King,  the  worshipping  community  of  the  Saints  upon  earth,  the 
election  and  the  chosen  people  to  do  God's  will  and  to  receive 
the  benefits  He  has  ordained  for  them.  All  these  are  aspects  of 
the  Church  of  God  from  many  points  of  view,  of  God's  gracious 
goodness  and  of  man's  necessities.  Still,  none  of  these  make 
void  the  aspect  of  the  Church  as  a  teaching  institution,  where- 
in, through  a  manifold  system  of  means  employed  by  the  Holy 
Spirit  and  received  by  the  living  faith  of  the  sincere  Christian, 
knowledge  is  increased  and  applied  and  accumulated  to  the 
salvation  of  souls  and  the  spreading  of  the  heavenly  light  amid 
the  darkness  of  this  world. 

And  freed  as  we  are  in  this  land  from  the  burden  of  the 
State  yoke  upon  the  neck  of  the  Church,  there  is  no  pleasure 
greater  for  the  thoughtful  Churchman  than  to  behold  her  light 
increasing  day  by  day,  to  see  the  bitter  hereditary  prejudices 
against  the  Church  being  scattered,  and  men  confessing  that 
they  and  their  fathers  had  been  mistaken,  and  the  prophecy  in 


REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM.  207 

reference  to  the  Church  being  fulfilled  more  and  more,  "All 
they  that  despised  Thee  shall  come  and  bow  themselves  down 
to  the  soles  of  Thy  feet."  * 

But  more  beautiful  still  is  it  to  see  in  the  members  of  the 
Church  the  increase  of  knowledge,  how  the  doctrines  of  the 
Scripture  are  taken  honestly  and  plainly  and  practically  by 
thousands,  of  young  and  old,  men  and  women,  and  accepted 
and  lived  by,  in  a  way  and  in  a  temper  that  certainly  has  not 
been  that  of  Europe  for  many  centuries.  And  then  to  see  in 
consequence  of  this  how  faith  is  growing— simple-minded,  sincere 
faith — and  Christian  earnestness  and  Christian  works.  All  this 
seems  to  say  to  the  Church,  "  Arise,  shine ;  for  thy  light  is 
come,  and  the  glory  of  the  Lord  is  risen  upon  thee."  f  For 
with  the  Church  here  in  this  land  it  shall  be  as  it  was  with  the 
Church  in  prunitive  days.  She  bore  the  taunts  of  dilettante 
philosophers  and  unearnest  poets,  pagan  literati,  who  more  and 
more  cultivated  verbal  polish,  and  the  tinklings  and  glitterings 
of  an  over-wrought  rhetorical  style.  Celsus  and  Lucian  and 
Porphyry  and  Libanius  the  Sophist  and  the  pagan  apostate 
Julian,  scorned  and  spurned  the  "  stupid  wretches,"  the  "  skulk- 
ing generation."  X  And  then,  by  and  by,  it  was  found  out, 
as  it  will  yet  be  found  out  here,  that  all  knowledge  whatsoever 
begins  with  faith ;  all  ignorance,  mental  and  moral  and  spiritual, 
with  doubt  and  unbelief. 

And,  finally,  in  the  fourth  century,  Augustine  in  the 
West,  and  Athanasius  and  Chrysostom  in  the  East  arose,  and 
gave  to  the  world,  upon  Christian  grounds,  the  whole  basis  of 
European  and  Eastern  opinion ;  so  that  henceforth,  whatever 
their  errors  and  deficiencies  may  have  been,  they  have  reigned 
in  Europe  and  the  East  as  crowned  kings,  over  all  generations, 
in  the  power  of  a  public  sentiment,  derived  through  these 
three  men  of  great  genius,  essentially  from  the  teachings  of  the 

*  Isaiah,  Ix.  14.  f  Isaiah,  Ix.  1. 

X  The  enumeration  of  the  abusive  names  given  by  the  heathen  to  the 
early  Christians  then,  that  is,  of  the  first  four  centuries,  with  the  explana- 
tion of  them,  occupies  fifteen  octavo  pages  in  Bingham ! 


208  REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM. 

Cliristian  faith.  For  there  is  no  opinion  in  Europe  at  this 
day  upon  metaphysics,  history,  pohty,  morals,  or  religion,  held 
and  taught  by  any  body  of  people  whatsoever,  that  is  not  to 
be  found  in  the  works  of  these  great  leaders  of  the  world's 
thought. 

And  so  shall  it  be  here,  in  this  new  world,  sooner  or  later. 
The  masses  will  one  day  find  out  that  they  have  to  make  their 
choice  between  a  lawless,  fraudulent,  filthy,  immoral  unbelief, 
and  the  Christian  faith  in  the  Christian  Church,  witnessed  nnto 
by  its  teachings  upon  life,  theoretic  and  practical.  And  the  same 
result  shall  take  place  among  us  as  did  in  Europe,  except  that 
our  Angustines  and  Chrysostoms  shall  not  be  shackled  and 
impeded  by  a  Constantine  or  an  Arcadius. 

We  go  on  in  the  next  chapter  to  consider  the  remedies 
which,  in  the  Christian  Church,  are  conferred  upon  the  Chris- 
tian man  to  heal  the  second  wound  of  original  sin, — the  ten- 
dency, that  is,  that  exists  in  man  toward  rebellion  against  the 
law  of  God  and  the  harmony  of  his  own  nature. 


CHAPTER  YI. 

The  Greek  philosophy,  keen  as  it  was,  failed  in  its  ultimate 
analysis  of  man,  because  it  took  for  granted  that  it  was  exam- 
ining a  perfect  nature  instead  of  one  morbid  and  diseased. 
There  was  in  it,  accordingly,  no  knowledge  and  no  doctrine  of 
the  infection  of  nature,  and  therefore  no  remedy  for  the  disease. 
Naught  in  its  sages  but  their  dumb  sense  of  weariness  and 
restlessness,  their  feeling  of  sorrow  for  man,  or  of  contempt, 
or  of  scornful  disgust,  testifies  to  the  fact  that  the  disease 
existed  in  themselves,  and  they  knew  it  not.  The  doctrine 
and  the  fact  of  sin,  so  familiar  as  it  is  to  our  thoughts,  was  a 
conception  of  which  the  Greek  sages  had  no  distinct  and 
scientific  knowledge.  In  fact,  the  words  by  which  the  Chris- 
tianized Greeks  and  Romans  expressed  what  the  Hebrew  race 
understood  by  the  word  "sin,"*  in  the  language  of  their 
classic  ancestors  had  no  such  meaning.  Whether  the  Greek 
word  meant  any  more  than  mere  intellectual  error,  or  the  Latin 
more  than  a  mistake  in  the  practical  work  of  the  world's  busi- 
ness, may  very  fairly  be  doubted.  Certainly,  the  classic 
words  had  by  no  means  that  awful  sense  of  personal  guilt  and 
of  responsibility  which  attaches  itself  to  the  Christian  idea  of 
sin.  The  "  peccatum  "  of  Cicero,  and  the  "  hamartema  "  of  the 
Attic  Greek  writers,  have  a  sense  quite  difi'erent  from  the  idea 
attached  to  the  same  word  in  the  Epistles  of  St.  Paul  or  the 
theology  of  St.  Augustine.  In  fact,  we  believe  that  the  Christian 
idea  of  tlie  word  "  sin  "  is  our  inheritance  from  the  Old  Testa- 
ment, which  required  constant  and  manifold  indoctrination  even 
to  render  the  sense  not  strange  to  a  Greek  or  Roman. 

*  "  Chatah,"  in  Hebrew. 

14 


210  REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM. 

We  have  in  the  last  chapter  discussed  the  matter  of  original 
sin  in  general,  and  shown  its  relation  to  our  doctrine  of  regen- 
eration. It  remains  now  to  consider  it  particularly  in  regard 
to  the  insubordination  of  man's  nature,  and  the  question  of 
the  Law ;  for  the  definition  of  sin  given  in  the  New  Testa- 
ment, strictly  considered,  brings  in  this  idea  of  Law,  "  Sin 
is  the  transgression  of  the  Law."  *  Fully,  therefore,  to  under- 
stand the  nature  of  sin,  we  must  understand  the  nature  of 
the  Law. 

For,  admit  that  man  may  have  this  great  flaw  in  his  nature 
and  being,  so  that  he  may  have  a  tendency  toward  that  which 
is  evil,  still  it  is  possible  it  might  have  existed  in  him  uncon- 
sciously, as  unquestionably  the  elements  of  the  same  depra- 
vation are  spread  over  the  brute  creation.  For  the  tiger  and 
all  animals  of  the  cat  kind  are  cruel,  the  wolf  is  ferocious,  other 
animals  are  full  of  malice,  of  greediness,  of  lust,  of  mockery,  of 
quarrelsomeness.  Nay,  the  roots  of  pride  and  ambition,  of 
jealousy  and  vanity,  and  even  of  avarice,  are  to  be  seen  in 
various  animals.  And  these  defects,  while  they  injure  the 
nature  and  the  individual,  are  yet  wholly  without  conscious- 
ness, without  the  sense  of  good  or  evil.  Of  course  this  injury 
in  them  is  that  of  a  mortal  nature,  not  of  an  immortal  being, — 
it  is  that  of  an  animal  nature,  not  of  one  moral  and  spiritual ; 
but  the  great  practical  difierence  is  that  to  them  there  is  no 
moral  law.  Man,  a  spiritual  and  moral  and  immortal  being, 
has,  outside  his  nature,  and  within  it,  a  rule,  a  measure,  to  which 
he  is  to  conform  his  action.  In  man's  nature  within  is  the  in- 
fection, the  hereditary  flaw  whence  arises  his  ignorance  of  God, 
his  impurity,  his  disorder,  his  guilt, — all  the  elements  of  fear 
and  shame  and  wretchedness.  Outside  of  man,  therefore,  exter- 
nal to  his  being,  and  also  within  it,  written  upon  his  heart,  God 
has  placed  the  measure  of  good  and  evil,  a  universal  rule  known 
to  all  human  beings,  which  to  them  all  shall  be  the  standard  of 
holiness,  of  purity,  of  justice,  and  of  truth.  This  is  the  Law. 
Thereby  applying  this  ever-present,  all-embracing  rule  to  them- 
*  I.  John,  iii.  4. 


REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM.  21  i 

selves,  all  men  know  what  they  are.  They  know  also  what 
course  of  action,  upon  their  part,  God  requires. 

Now  let  the  New  Testament  be  opened,  and  it  will  be  at 
once  seen  how  frequently  and  how  earnestly  this  subject  of  the 
Law  is  discussed  in  it.  In  fact,  the  writings  of  St.  Paul  seem 
almost  entirely  to  be  a  set  treatise  upon  this  idea  and  fact  of 
the  Law  and  its  relation  to  grace.  The  word  ^'  law  "  occurs  one 
hundred  and  ninety-two  times  in  the  New  Testament,  the  word 
"  sin  "  one  hundred  and  eighty-two  times,  very  naturally  from 
the  relation  which  the  one  tact,  being  objective,  bears  to  the 
other  fact  of  man's  inward  nature  and  his  actions.  Were  there 
no  law,  man  would  follow  his  own  corrupt  nature,  without  any 
knowledge  or  conviction  of  sin ;  nay,  without  any  feeling  or 
sense.  Were  there  no  internal  deficiency,  there  would  be  no 
difficulty  in  doing  according  to  the  Law ;  in  fact,  hardly  any  sense 
of  its  existence.  But  the  Law  manifests  to  us  our  sin  ;  and  sin, 
again,  makes  us  feel  the  existence  and  the  burden  of  the  Law. 

We  are  not  ignorant  that  many  divines  of  high  standing 
suppose  that  in  these  cases,  wherein  St.  Paul  speaks  of  the  Law, 
he  means,  with  but  few  exceptions,  the  Mosaic  law,  the  Jewish 
polity  which  was  to  be  abrogated  by  the  Gospel,  But  he  who 
shall  take  all  these  places  of  Scripture  wherein  the  word  law 
occurs,  one  by  one,  and,  according  to  the  logical  rule,  substi- 
tute in  each  the  supposed  definition  for  the  word,  will,  by  this 
means,  find  out  that  it  by  no  means  answers,  that  this  is  not  the 
universal  and  exclusive  meaning. 

He  shall  find  out  also,  in  this  idea  of  the  Law,  a  more  grand 
idea,  a  deeper  philosophy  than  heathen  philosophers,  Greek  or 
German,  French  or  Enghsh,  have  ever  dreamed  of.  What  is 
this  idea,  then  ?  It  is  this,  that  in  the  "  Law  "  an  authoritative 
rule  of  life  has  been  revealed  to  every  one  of  the  human  race, 
more  or  less  perfectly ;  that  no  man  is  left  alone  to  his  own 
individual,  unaided,  reason  or  conscience  to  decide  upon  what  is 
right  or  wrong,  but  that  external  to  him,  coming  to  him  from 
without,  there  is,  in  the  Law  a  manifestation  to  him,  a  declaration 
from  the  throne  of  God,  of  that  which  is  holy,  is  just,  is  pure, 


212  REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM. 

is  true,  is  righteous.  It  is  a  standard  and  a  rule  by  which  his 
reason  at  all  times  examines  itself  and  measures  its  own  con- 
clusions,— an  authority  which  reason  takes  as  its  final  court  of 
appeal. 

As  in  the  material  world  the  man  and  his  senses  do  not 
exist  alone,  but  are  ensphered  in  an  external  world  of  material 
things  corresponding  to  those  senses,  so  it  is  in  the  moral  world. 
The  eye  in  man  is  the  power  of  sight:  it  supposes  the  light,  and 
responds  to  it  in  organization  and  use.  These  two,  the  eye 
and  the  light,  mutually  require,  nay,  infer  and  even  demonstrate, 
the  existence  and  reality  the  one  of  the  other ;  so  it  is  in  the 
spiritual  and  moral,  nay,  even  in  the  intellectual  world  of  man. 
The  internal  fact  in  man's  being  always  implies  and  asserts 
another  great  fact  external  to  it  and  related  to  it. 

Here,  then,  we  have  two  facts.  The  first  is  that  which  all 
philosophers  have  recognized, — that  man  has  in  himself,  as  a 
distinct  being,  a  constitution  composed  of  body,  soul,  and  spirit, 
and  of  the  several  powers  and  faculties  and  qualities  that  belong 
to  each,  bound  up  and  united  in  one  person.  All  moral  phi- 
losophy has  recognized  that  by  means  of  these,  his  powers,  man 
has  the  ideas  of  truth  and  beauty,  justice,  holiness,  and  goodness. 
Few  have  thought  that  to  the  internal  sense  an  external  fact  and 
influence  is  necessary.  They  have  searched  for  the  source  and 
origin  of  these  ideas  in  man's  own  nature  and  its  consciousness. 
They  have  forgotten  or  despised  the  fact  that  every  man  is  born 
into  society,  and  that  society  in  its  three  forms — the  family,  the 
nation,  the  Church— is  not  a  mere  chance  aggregation  of  persons, 
but  exists  organically  and  indefectibly.  No  man  has  originated 
from  the  unaided  labor  of  his  own  mental  powers  any  one  of 
these  transcendent  spiritual  ideas.  Society  brings  the  knowl- 
edge of  these,  each  and  all,  to  each  individual  man  as  a  matter 
of  fact,  and  language  is  the  channel  by  which  that  knowledge 
comes.  All  that  reason  does  is  to  receive,  to  examine,  to  dis- 
cuss, to  balance,  to  illustrate,  to  apply  the  ideas  it  has  received 
more  or  less  perfectly.  Whence  have  I,  or  any  other  man, 
received  the  ideas  of  God,  of  freedom,  of  immortality  ?    Clear- 


REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM.  213 

ly  from  this  source  and  by  this  channel,  and  from  no  other. 
And  then  in  me  the  corresponding  emotions  and  principles 
awake,  and  the  full  idea  and  conception  is  formed  by  the  action 
of  my  reason.  And  all  these  grand  moral  ideas,  presented  ex- 
ternally to  man,  together  with  this  other  truth,  that  they  are 
obligatory  upon  his  action,  make  up  the  idea  of  moral  law. 

Modern  philosophers  ignore  the  objective  and  the  external. 
The  Law  with  them  is  nothing,  language  nothing,  tradition 
nothing, — society,  and  all  its  institutions  and  influences,  go 
for  nothing.  The  sole  source  of  all  their  knowledge  is  the 
internal  being  of  man,  "  an  analysis  of  the  contents  of  his  con- 
sciousness." And  yet  all  these,  which  they  so  despise,  are  just 
as  much  facts  as  the  faculties  of  the  man  are,  just  as  much  re- 
lated to  those  faculties  as  light  is  to  the  eye,  food  to  the  appetite, 
sounds  to  the  ear,  odors  to  the  sense  of  smell.  If  a  natural 
philosopher,  discussing  man's  physical  being,  were  to  begin  by 
supposing  the  external  world  to  be  non-existent,  and  proceed 
to  construct  a  system  upon  such  a  principle,  making  difficulties 
for  himself,  and  then  solving  them  scientifically  as  well  as  he 
could,  under  such  a  strange  self-imposed  condition,  he  would  be 
thought  worthy  of  a  lunatic  asylum.  What  else  does  the  moral 
and  mental  philosophy  of  our  day  do  than  this  ?  What  else  is 
the  procedure  of  Kant,  Fichte,  Schelling,  Hegel,  and  Cousin  ? 
They  take  the  individual  man,  and  their  own  analysis  of  his 
faculties,  to  be  everj^thing.  This  is  the  exclusive  source  of  their 
philosophy.  No  wonder  that  it  ends  in  denying  the  existence 
of  all  things  objective,  since  it  began  in  taking  for  granted 
their  non-existence,  by  shutting  them  out  from  all  philosophic 
consideration.  No  wonder  that  this  process  ends  in  atheism, 
in  radicalism,  and  in  immorality,  when  their  philosophy  is  wholly 
based  upon  the  individual,  and  naught  else  is  considered  to  exist 
in  the  world,  neither  God,  nor  government,  nor  moral  law.  In 
fact,  as  a  logical  consequence  of  this  philosophy,  the  idea  of 
law  is  altogether  forgotten.  The  only  thing  that  saves  any 
disciple  of  it  is,  that  although  they  can,  in  their  science,  ignore, 
they  cannot,  in  fact,  annihilate  the  outward  and  objective  world. 


214  REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM. 

But  to  return.  We  deny  not  the  powers  and  tlie  rights  of 
the  human  reason.  It  deals  with  all  these  grand  and  high  ideas. 
That  we  admit.  But  not  alone;  not  without  a  rule  and  a 
standard.  That  standard  is  the  Law.  Society  exists  external 
to  the  man.  Language  is,  in  society,  a  channel  through  which 
all  these  ideas  reach  and  enter  man's  knowledge.  Also,  with 
authority,  society  presses  and  enforces  these  ideas  upon  the 
man  as  duties  and  obligations.  It  says,  "  Thou  shalt,"  or  "  Thou 
shalt  not;"  it  enforces  them  by  sanctions,  and  enacts  and 
inflicts  penalties ;  and  the  man  accepts  this  legislation  as  a  rule 
of  his  action.  Reason  recognizes  authority  as  a  coordinate 
power  with  itself.  Reason  is  not,  as  European  despots  have 
thought,  an  enemy  to  authority ;  nor  is  authority,  as  European 
radicals  have  imagined,  a  foe  to  reason ;  for  law  is  the  perfection 
of  reason  on  the  one  hand,  and,  on  the  other,  the  most  perma- 
nent and  successful  authority  is  that  which  understandingly 
rules  and  guides  itself  by  the  widest  and  the  loftiest  reason. 

Here,  then,  is  the  Law, — an  external  and  real  fact  of  society 
to  every  man  in  every  place  and  condition ;  for  man  is  every- 
where in  society.  Its  rules  are  the  same  over  the  whole  world ; 
for  it  is  the  law  of  morality,  a  revelation  given  to  us  of  the 
nature  of  God,  who  is  one  and  unchangeable.  The  nature  of 
man,  also,  is  everywhere  the  same.  The  Law,  therefore,  is 
immutable.  "  Thou  shalt  not  steal,"  "  Thou  shalt  do  no 
murder,"  "  Thou  shalt  not  commit  adultery,"  are  principles 
recognized  everywhere,  in  all  ages,  and  in  all  climates, — prin- 
ciples of  the  one  great  universal  Law. 

In  truth,  this  law  is  neither  more  nor  less  than  the  moral 
law, — the  law  of  the  Ten  Commandments.  Existing  inerad- 
icably  in  society  and  in  the  nature  of  man,  it  is  for  each  man 
the  one  great  fact.  It  declares  and  proves  to  man  the  being  of 
God,  the  future  judgment,  his  own  responsibility.  It  reaches 
to  the  inmost  parts  of  the  heart  of  man.  His  thoughts,  his 
words,  his  outward  acts,  alike  belong  to  its  dominion,  are  to 
be  brought  beneath  its  rule.  It  is  to  man  the  standard  of  all 
his  actions,  the  absolute  measure  of  good  and  evil ;  only  by  it 


REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM.  215 

can  he  ascertain  tliat  which  is  right  or  wrong.  What  shall  I 
do?  The  one  sufficient  answer  is,  "That  which  is  right," 
— i^ectum;  "that  which  \.%  ruled  by  the  Law  of  God."  Mj 
reason,  my  affections,  my  conscience  itself,  may  be  guides  to 
lead  me  onward  on  the  way  toward  this  result ;  but  great  as 
they  are  of  themselves,  and  in  their  products,  they  are  no 
ultimate,  absolute  rule.  And  they  themselves  must  be  ruled ; 
they  must  have  a  standard  and  a  measure  to  which  they  are  to 
conform.  It  may  be  difficult  to  ascertain  what  is  "  right,"  for 
uncertainty  seems  naturally  to  cling  to  man  ;  but  when  that 
which  is  "  right "  is  found,  it  is  the  ultimate  fact,  that  upon 
which  man  is  bound  to  act. 

Here,  then,  is  the  grand  source  of  all  morality,  of  all 
progress,  for  the  individual  and  the  race,  in  this  great  fact  of 
Law,  this  grand  idea  of  duty  and  of  right.  They  do  not  come 
from  philosophic  speculation  or  analysis,  nor  from  literature, 
still  less  from  sentiment,  but  from  this :  that  whensoever  the 
objective  Law  of  God,  wherever  I  find  it,  and  the  law  written 
in  my  heart,  unite  in  telling  me  that  there  is  a  duty  for  me  to 
do,  then  let  me  do  it  firmly,  constantly,  and  habitually.  This 
was  known  of  old,  even  by  the  heathen.  "  I  must  declare," 
says  Cicero,  "  that  I  have  learned  more  from  the  Law  of  the 
Twelve  Tables  than  from  all  the  writings  of  philosophers." 

And,  for  myself,  I  candidly  confess  that,  much  as  I  admire 
our  liturgy  in  other  things,  I  think  it  the  grandest  privilege  of 
the  minister  of  the  Church,  and  his  most  efficient  work  for 
God,  that  he  stands  every  Lord's  Day  by  the  altar,  and  pro- 
claims to  the  people,  with  authority,  one  by  one,  the  Ten 
Commandments,  and  they,  upon  their  bended  knees,  respond, 
"  Lord,  have  mercy  upon  us,  and  incline  our  hearts  to  keep 
this  Law."  This  done,  every  year,  week  by  week,  through  the 
whole  range  of  ministerial  life,  is  a  true  and  permanent  work 
of  moral  teaching  to  the  whole  community,  the  value  of  which 
God  only  can  estimate.  For  the  most  efficient  and  telling  act 
of  morality  on  the  part  of  man  is  to  seek  after  and  to  apply  to 
himself  the  Law  of  God  as  a  rule  and  measure  of  action.    And 


216  REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM. 

the  loftiest  position  that  the  Church  can  take  in  anj  land,  is  to 
see  itself  as  the  kingdom  of  God  upon  earth,  and  to  proclaim 
His  Law  from  her  altars  to  rich  and  poor,  "old  men  and 
maidens,  young  men  and  children,  one  with  another," 

And  that  this  should  be  done  as  unto  the  sons  of  God,  in 
connection  with  the  Lordship  of  Christ,  the  mercy  of  God, 
and  the  grace  of  the  Spirit  that  inclines  our  hearts,  is  a  great 
and  glorious  work, — the  fulfilling  of  the  Law  by  Christ.  For 
the  Law  of  God  in  the  kingdom  of  God  is  the  great  source 
and  origin  to  man  of  all  moral  advance,  all  civilization  that  is 
real  and  permanent.  We  conclude  this  paragrapli  with  the 
last  period  from  the  famous  first  book  of  Richard  Hooker : 
"  Of  Law  there  can  be  no  less  acknowledged  than  that  her 
seat  is  the  bosom  of  God,  her  voice  the  harmony  of  the 
world :  all  things  in  heaven  and  earth  do  her  homage, — the 
very  least  as  feeling  her  care,  the  greatest  as  not  exempted 
from  her  power ;  both  angels  and  men  and  creatures,  of  what 
condition  soever,  though  each  in  different  sort  and  manner,  yet 
all  with  uniform  consent,  admire  her  as  the  mother  of  their 
peace  and  joy."  * 

The  Law,  then,  in  the  Christian  sense,  is  an  ultimate  and 
universal  rule  for  the  acts  of  man.  In  what  forms  has  it  ex- 
isted, or  does  it  exist  ? 

First,  to  the  heathen,  who  have  had  no  revelation  vouch- 
safed to  them,  both  before  and  since  the  coming  of  our  Lord,  it 
exists  in  the  form  of  a  tradition  of  society.  The  usages  of  the 
nation,  the  influences  of  religious  worship  and  doctrine,  the 
laws  of  the  State,  in  all  heathen  nations,  manifest  and  declare 
the  Law  to  men.  Its  faults  in  this  form  are  the  faults  of  all 
knowledge  that  is  conveyed  by  oral  tradition  merely, — vague- 
ness and  uncertainty,  and  the  liability  to  yield  to  the  heat  of 
passion  or  the  temptations  of  interest.  Therefore,  the  longer 
it  exists  in  such  a  state,  the  more  corrupt  it  becomes  ;  although, 
even  in  its  worst  state,  it  ceases  not  to  be  of  use  and  to  show 
indications  of  its  origin. 

*  Hooker,  vol.  i.  p.  285. 


REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM.  217 

Secondly,  when  all  nations  had  corrupted  themselves  upon 
the  earth,  the  Almighty  was  pleased  to  organize  a  people  for 
the  very  purpose  of  showing  forth  His  Law.  He  revealed  it 
upon  Mount  Sinai.  He  gave  it  to  them  in  a  definite  form,  in 
distinct  words,  as  a  written  Law.  He  promulgated  it  with 
penalties  and  sanctions,  as  Himself  condescending  to  become 
their  Lawgiver.     It  became  the  Law  of  the  Ten  Command- 

•  ments,  and  of  all  the  grand  morality  which  so  richly  shoots 
forth  through  the  Pentateuch,  as  distinguished  from  merely 
national  and  ceremonial  polity. 

Thirdly,  we  see  the  Law  as  part  of  the  religion  of  our 
Blessed  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  It  is  as  clear  in  its  requirements, 
as  definite  and  precise  in  its  injunctions,  as  under  the  Mosaic 
dispensation:  "If  thou  wilt  enter  into  life,  keep  the  com- 
mandments ;  "  *  "  If  ye  love  Me,  keep  my  commandments ;  "  f 
and  "  This  is  love,  that  we  walk  after  His  commandments."  X 
"  Little  children,  let  no  man  deceive  you :  he  that  doeth 
righteousness  is  righteous,  even  as  he  is  righteous."  § 

The  Law,  under  Christ,  is  as  clear,  as  exacting  in  its  de- 
mands, as  under  the  Old  Covenant.  We  are  under  it,  how- 
ever, as  a  rule  of  life,  not  as  a  covenant  of  salvation.  For  the 
Lord  has  taken  the  Law  from  its  former  ground  of  condemna- 
tory and  unyielding  harshness.  He  has  given  it  His  own 
interpretation.  He  has  satisfied  it  by  His  perfect  obedience, 
and  the  sacrifice  of  His  death.  He  gives  to  us  also  the  grace 
of  regeneration,  whereby  we  are  no  longer  bondsmen,  but  sons ; 
no  longer  in  a  state  of  mere  nature  under  the  Law,  but  within 
His  kingdom  upon  earth.  And  lastly,  according  to  the  good 
pleasure  of  His  will  and  His  knowledge  of  our  needs,  He  gives 
us,  who  are  within  His  Church,  the  Holy  Spirit  to  aid  and 
assist  us  in  our  obedience.  These,  manifestly,  are  great  changes 
in  us  andybr  iis.,  although  the  Law  itself  is  not  changed  as  the 
standard  of  morality,  the  measure  to  us  of  right  and  wrong,  of 
good  and  evil. 

Whosoever  shall  look  at  these  three  last  paragraphs  will 

*  St.  Matthew,  xix.  17.     f  St.  John,  xiv.  15.      %  II.  John,  6.      §  I.  John,  iii.  7. 


218  REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM. 

see  that  they  specify  three  conditions  or  states  of  the  Law  of 
God,  which  are  to  man  external, — objective,  as  it  is  called. 
But  there  is  another  state  of  the  Law,  and  one  just  as  im- 
portant, which  is  subjective, — internal, — in  the  nature  of  man  at 
all  times.  The  Law  is  written  u])on  man's  heart,  inscribed,  as 
it  were,  upon  his  whole  being.  His  nature  is,  as  it  were,  by  its 
original  formation,  cast  in  the  mould  of  the  Law.  "  When  the 
heathen,  which  have  not  the  Law,  do  by  nature  the  things 
contained  in  the  Law,  these,  having  not  the  Law,  are  a  law 
unto  themselves :  which  show  the  work  of  the  Law  written  in 
their  hearts."  *  The  writing  may  be  broken  and  fragmentary, 
the  image  more  or  less  flawed  and  shattered,  yet  internally,  on 
the  being  and  in  the  heart  of  every  man  upon  earth,  the  Law  of 
God  is  written. 

Here,  then,  we  see  the  cleft  that  goes  to  the  very  centre  of 
man's  being.  The  Law  is  written  on  his  heart  by  nature ;  yet 
still  in  his  heart  there  is  disobedience  against  the  Law.  There 
exists  in  his  inmost  being  the  conviction  that  he  ought  to  obey, 
and  the  wish  to  obey  the  Law,  and,  at  the  same  time,  the 
tendency  and  the  inclination  to  rebel. 

And  then,  externally,  the  Law  meets  the  man.  It  surrounds 
him  everywhere;  it  demands  of  him  obedience ;  it  threatens 
him.  Hence,  man's  great  misery ;  hence,  his  great  agony ; 
hence,  his  inconsistency  in  all  the  relations  of  his  being.  Well 
might  the  high  intellect  of  Pascal  express  the  result  of  these 
two  facts  in  these  words, — "  What  a  chimera  is  man  !  what  a 
monster !  what  a  chaos !  what  a  contradiction  !  what  a  prodigy  ! 
Judge  of  all  things,  yet  a  helpless  worm  of  the  earth  ;  endowed 
with  all  truth,  yet  the  very  sink  of  uncertainty  and  error, — the 
pride  and  the  refuse  of  the  universe."  f 

And  what  is  the  result  of  this  present  state  of  man,  of  the 
concurrence  in  him  of  these  two  facts, — the  demands  of  the  Law, 
and  the  effects  of  his  own  original  sin  ?  It  is  this,  that  man, 
in  the  state  of  nature,  is  guilty  before  God ;  that  he  is  con- 
demned even  by  the  verdict  of  his  own  reason  and  conscience. 
*  Rom.  ii.  14,  15.  f  Pascal's  "  Thoughts." 


REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM.  219 

And  this  state  begins  with  the  very  beginning  of  his  being, 
commences  with  his  existence.  "What,  then,  shall  we  say  as  to 
the  position  of  man  as  being  under  the  law  of  God — acknowl- 
edging its  obligation  upon  him,  and  the  justice  of  its  demands 
upon  his  obedience — and  yet  unable  of  himself  or  of  his  own 
nature  to  obey  it  ? 

Taking  the  matter  merely  as  it  stands,  there  is  no  doubt 
that  the  problem,  even  to  the  Christian,  is  one  of  great  diffi- 
culty. We  shall  merely  indicate  the  elements  of  its  solution. 
All  mankind  are  under  the  sense  of  sin,  the  condemnation  of 
the  Law  before  God.  No  man  can  help  himself.  No  man  can 
of  himself  do  aught  that  is  good.  See  you  not  that  all  this 
is  true  ?  The  Scriptures  assert  it ;  the  wdiole  experience  of 
man  declares  it ;  our  inward  heart  accedes  to  its  truth  and  con- 
fesses it. 

What,  then,  with  these  facts  and  truths  full  in  our  mind, 
shall  be  our  philosophy  of  man  and  his  state  in  this  world  ? 
Listen  to  the  great  Augustine  bringing  back  into  Christianity 
the  philosophy  of  heathenism, — the  stoic  doctrine  of  predestin- 
ation, necessity,  fate  or  doom.  Since,  by  the  Law,  he  says,  all 
men  are  condemned,  all  are  justly  condemned,  inasmuch  as  the 
Law  comes  from  God  and  is  the  expression  of  His  will.  Since 
that  condemnation  is  universal  and  excepts  none  whatsoever  of 
any  age  or  climate,  there  is  but  one  thing  can  be  said  of  our 
whole  race.  The  whole  race  is  "  massa  perditionis"  (one  mass 
of  perdition),  "  conspersio  damnata "  (a  condemned  batch). 
These  are  the  views  of  St.  Augustine,  followed  by  Calvin.* 

How,  then,  on  this  theory,  is  any  man  saved  ?  In  this  way  : 
over  this  mass,  there  passes  a  twofold  decree, — the  one,  for  the 
few,  a  decree  of  salvation  unmerited  entirely ;  the  other,  for 
the  remainder,  of  I'eprobation,  which,  by  the  state  in  which  man 
is,  is  completely  deserved.  This  is  the  doctrine  of  Augustine,t 
and,  after  him,  of  Calvin.     Is  it  true  ? 

We  answer  in  this  way :  If  there  be  nothing  in  existence 

*  Wiggers's  "Augustinism  and  Pelagianism,"  p.  99,  American  edition. 
\  Hagenbacli's  "  History  of  Doctrines,"  vol.  i.  p  327. 


220  REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM. 

save  God  the  uncreated,  who  is  most  holy,  and  created  man 
who  is  fallen,  then  all  this  must  be  true.  But  since  there  is  a 
world  of  God's  making,  a  system  of  nature  material  and  social, 
external  to  man  ;  and  since  man,  after  the  fall,  was  left  by  God 
to  abide  in  that  system  for  a  time,  as  it  were  given  a  reprieve 
from  the  execution  of  the  sentence  he  had  incurred ;  and  since 
to  him  it  is  a  school  and  state  of  probation  ;  since,  also,  in  his 
being  were  left  the  remains  of  the  original  nature,  a  reason  that 
dimly  discerns  the  truth,  a  free-will  which,  liowever  feebly  and 
faintly,  struggles  toward  it, — that  dogma  cannot  be  true.  For, 
that  this  world  is  a  school  of  probation  even  to  fallen  man^ 
and  ever  has  been,  implies  that  man  is  not  totally  depraved. 
It  implies  that  even  to  the  heathen,  even  to  the  unregenerated, 
prevenient  grace  is  sent  to  call  man  toward  God.  "  The  Light 
lighteneth  every  man  that  cometh  into  the  world."  "The 
Spirit  striveth  with  all  men."  And,  so  far  from  being  author- 
ized to  cast  out  of  consideration,  as  these  great  men  do,  the 
moral  system  of  the  world  in  which  man  is  placed,  and  to 
ignore  its  existence,  we  are  bound  to  take  it  into  the  fullest 
account.  For  it  is  only  by  ignoring  the  moral  meaning  and  the 
influence  of  the  outer  world  of  nature  and  of  God's  providence 
upon  man,  and  by  casting  it  entirely  out  of  consideration,  that 
St.  Augustine  and  Calvin  could  have  arrived  at  their  predes- 
tination and  reprobation  theories,  even  for  the  heathen  world 
before  Christ.  And,  as  for  such  a  dogma  being,  since  our  Lord 
was  incarnate  and  made  man,  the  basis  of  the  Gospel  system, 
it  is  hateful  and  unchristian  and  heathenish.* 

Since,  then,  we  have  cast  aside  the  system  of  absolute  pre- 
destination, what  shall  we  say  is  the  effect  in  this  world  of  the 
law,  and  of  original  sin  upon  man  ?  It  is  this :  Their  united 
effect  is  to  convince  me,  as  man,  that  of  myself,  my  own  nature, 
apart  from  God,  of  all  my  powers  of  body  and  soul  and  spirit, 
I  can  do  no  good,  although  I  feel  that  my  whole  being  is 

*  "  In  an  evil  hour  did  the  restless  mind  of  man  devise  for  itself  the 
perilous  question  of  fatalism ;  and  in  a  more  unhappy  one  was  it  intro- 
duced into  Christian  theology." — Southey. 


REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM.  221 

framed  for  good  originally ;  that  its  ends  and  objects  are  good ; 
for  in  me,  that  is,  in  my  whole  nature,  lies  that  essential  flaw 
of  original  sin.  It  is  like  delirium  existing  in  the  brain,  along 
with  thought,  and  impeding  it ;  like  palsy  dwelling  in  the  nerv- 
ous system  and  preventing  its  natural  action.  I  act,  and  in  all 
my  actions  comes  in  the  result  of  this  original  depravation.  The 
unyielding  law  measures  them  all,  condemns  them  all,  and  thus 
declares  and  proves  to  me  that  I  need  forgiveness  of  sins,  that 
I  need  salvation,  and  that  by  no  powers  of  my  own,  by  nothing 
that  I  myself  can  do,  can  I  be  saved.  This  is  their  effect  to 
me  and  to  the  whole  race, — the  conclusion  forced  upon  all  men, 
from  all  experience  of  their  own  powers  and  their  own  acts, 
that  they  cannot  save  themselves,  and  that  elsewhere  than  in 
themselves  they  must  look  for  a  Redeemer.  This  is  the  effect 
of  the  Law  as  it  acts  in  this  world  upon  fallen  man, — to  con- 
vince me  of  sin,  to  turn  my  thought  and  will  toward  Christ ; 
and  then  if,  my  whole  life  through,  I  reject  and  refuse  Him, 
to  condemn  me  finally  and  justly  and  deservedly. 

Had  St.  Augustine,  great-hearted  saint  and  man  of  genius 
as  he  was,  meditated  as  thoughtfully  upon  the  moral  and 
spiritual  import  and  significance  of  the  external  world,  of 
nature,  and  of  society,  as  he  did  upon  man's  inward  nature, 
he  never  would  have  made  the  mistake  he  did.  For  it  is  only 
by  ignoring  its  existence  in  relation  to  man  that  such  a  system 
as  his  could  be  imagined  or  maintained.  Or,  in  fact,  had  he 
read  the  Scriptures  of  the  Old  and  the  New  Testament  in  the 
original,  he  would  have  made  no  such  blunder.  It  is  only  by 
means  of  translations,  Latin,  or  French,  or  English,  that  any 
man  can  maintain  that  a  system  of  fate  is  the  system  of  the 
Gospel.  No  such  theory  is  possible  to  one  who  reads  in  the 
original,  as  a  native ;  or,  if  he  be  a  foreigner,  who  reads  with 
critical  understanding, — not  as  a  schoolboy,  but  as  a  man.* 

Here,  then,  is  the  state  of  all  men  in  the  world.  They 
are  fallen ;    they   need    to    be    lifted    up.      They   are   dead 

*  Augustine  had  no  knowledge  whatsoever  of  Hebrew,  and  but  little  of 
Greek.     "  Thy  servant,"  he  says,  "  knows  no  Hebrew,  and  very  little  Greek." 


222  REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM. 

in  sin ;  they  need  to  be  made  alive.  They  are  pol- 
luted ;  they  need  to  be  purified.  They  are  sold  under  sin 
and  condemned ;  they  need  to  be  redeemed  and  justified. 
This  is  the  fact  as  to  all  men  by  nature.  And  because  of  the 
Law,  this  is  the  knowledge,  the  conviction,  the  conclusion  and 
ultimate  thought  of  all  men.  What,  then,  do  they  require  ? 
They  are  in  one  •  condition  and  state.  They  need  to  be 
brought  into  another.  Hence  regeneration,  received  by  faith, 
must  be  a  complete  remission  of  all  sins.  Hence  it  must  be 
the  beginning  of  a  new  life,  and  entrance  into  the  sphere  of 
that  life.  Hence,  along  with  it  must  go,  as  a  gift,  the  sancti- 
fying and  purifying  influence  of  the  Holy  Spirit.  And,  there- 
fore, to  the  baptized  Christian,  the  Law  ceases  not  to  exist,  but 
comes  to  be  and  remains  the  Law  of  Christ.  Condemned  for- 
merly by  the  Law,  he  is  now  justified  by  grace. 

We  see,  then,  the  idea  of  regeneration  completed  in  this 
idea  of  the  Law.  Baptism  is  the  entrance  into  the  Church  of 
Christ.  The  Church  of  Christ  is  the  kingdom  of  God, — the 
kingdom  of  heaven  actually  existing  on  the  earth.  By  its  very 
nature  it  is  a  permanent  state,  a  kingdom.  The  man  is  brought 
within  it,  from  that  kingdom  wherein  he  was  born,  in  which 
sin  reigned,  Satan  reigned,  death  reigned.  We  are  now  within 
that  kingdom  actually  and  really;  and  the  Law  which  con- 
demned us  formerly,  which  to  us,  as  outside  of  Christ,  was  the 
Law  of  death,  is  become  to  us  a  Law  of  life.  "  There  is  there- 
fore now  no  condemnation  to  them  which  are  in  Christ  Jesus, 
if  they  walk  not  after  the  flesh,  but  after  the  Spirit.  For  the 
Law  of  the  Spirit  of  Life  in  Christ  Jesus  hath  made  me  free 
from  the  Law  of  sin  and  death."  * 

See,  therefore,  how  the  Law  drives  all  men  to  seek  a  Re- 
deemer. See  how  it  implies  and  suggests  that  there  is  for  us  a 
a  permanent  state,  a  kingdom  and  a  king.  Does  this  agree  with 
the  idea  that  sees  in  the  Gospel  only  the  individual  man,  and 
his  personal,  isolated  faith  ?  Or  does  it  not  rather  agree  with 
that  which,  asserting  faith  as  fully,  asserts  for  it  no  power  save 
*  Romans,  viii.  1,  2. 


REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM.  223 

as  a  hand  that  receives  the  gifts  that  are  extended  to  us 
by  God's  free  grace,  and  then  says  that  these  gifts  are  remission 
of  sins,  a  real  hfe  of  Christ  implanted  in  us,  and  a  real 
entrance  into  the  Church  of  God,  which  is  the  kingdom  of 
heaven,  the  heavenly  state  full  of  all  spiritual  blessings  in 
Christ,*  a  visible  kingdom  upon  the  earth,  against  which  the 
gates  of  hell  cannot  prevail  ? 

Having,  therefore,  seen  in  their  mutual  relations  the  Chris- 
tian doctrines  of  sin  and  the  Law, — their  relation  also  to  man  in 
the  state  of  nature,  and  to  man  as  regenerated  and  within  the 
kingdom  of  God  upon  earth, — we  now  can  see  the  remedy  for 
the  insubordination  of  man's  nature.  As  in  the  Church,  and 
in  its  agencies,  we  have  seen  an  actual  educational  system  truly 
operating  upon  man,  so  in  the  Church,  considered  as  the  king- 
dom of  God,  do  we  see  the  means  of  subduing  man  unto  the 
Law  of  God. 

Considering,  as  we  have  done,  that  the  flesh,  the  lower  part 
of  the  nature  of  man,  tends  perpetually  to  rise  in  rebellion 
against  the  higher  and  spiritual  portion  of  his  being ;  consid- 
ering, also,  tliat  every  power  and  faculty  of  man  tends  to  go 
astray  from  the  path  of  right  action  ;  and  then  looking  at  the 
operation  upon  him  of  the  Law  and  Grace  in  regard  to  this 
insubordination  of  his  nature,  we  come  to  these  conclusions : 
The  Law  of  God  is  proclaimed  to  the  baptized  man,  Sunday 
after  Sunday,  from  the  altar,  with  authority  as  absolutely  in- 
cumbent and  binding  upon  him.  It  is  taught  him  also  in  the 
Catechism.  It  is  read  in  his  hearing,  in  the  Scriptures  of 
the  Old  Testament  and  of  the  New.  There  is  no  Christian 
man  in  the  Church  who  can  by  any  means  fall  into  Antino- 
mian  or  Solifidian  delusions,  and  deny  the  obligation  of  God's 
Law.  The  parent  and  the  child,  the  most  advanced  in  holi- 
ness and  faith,  alike  with  the  youngest  and  the  most  unripe, 
confess  upon  their  knees,  and  acknowledge  the  binding  nature 
of  God's  Law.  But  the  Law  is  proclaimed  to  us,  and  acknowl- 
edged, in  the  Christian  point  of  view,  as  interpreted  by  our 
*  Ephesians,  i.  3. 


224  REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM. 

Lord  himself,  as  connected  with  His  atonement  and  sacrifice, 
and  the  grace  of  His  Holy  Spirit.  And  we  are  in  a  different 
position  from  those  outside.  We  are  within  the  kingdom 
of  Christ  on  earth.  We  are  no  longer  servants,  but  sons, 
having  been  redeemed  from  slavery  and  become  subjects  of 
Christ  ou.r  king, — citizens  of  the  kingdom  of  God, — fellow- 
citizens  with  the  saints, — the  holy  nation.  In  ourselves,  we 
have  the  indwelling  life  of  Christ  in  our  bodies,  our  souls,  and 
our  spirits,  to  grow  in  us,  to  pass  throughout  our  whole  being 
as  the  sap  through  the  vine,  that  we  may  be  brought  into  con- 
formity with  the  image  of  Christ ;  and  to  feed  this  sacred 
principle  of  life,  we  have  the  gift  of  the  Holy  Spirit  of  grace 
perpetually  aiding  us  in  our  progress, — sent  down  to  us  with  pro- 
phetic suggestions,  with  comforting,  illuminating,  supporting 
grace  from  the  throne  of  Christ  our  king.  Is  it  not  manifest 
that  the  member  of  the  kingdom  of  God  upon  earth,  so  far  as 
it  concerns  the  Law  itself  and  his  own  position  under  it,  is  in  a 
new  state,  a  state  completely  changed  from  that  in  which  he 
was  before  he  was  baptized  ? 

And  here  we  would  say  that  this  idea  of  a  kingdom  of  God 
upon  the  earth  actually  existing,  is  one  of  the  most  prominent 
and  distinct  ideas  of  the  New  Testament.  It  meets  us  every- 
where in  the  discourses  of  our  Saviour  and  in  the  writings 
of  His  apostles.  The  phrase  is  not  used  as  a  metaphor,  only 
to  denote  the  spiritual  subjection  of  the  person  to  a  spiritual 
law,  but  it  asserts,  furthermore,  the  fact  of  a  real  spiritual 
realm,  a  kingdom  of  God,  organized  and  abiding  upon  earth, 
which  admits  by  visible  and  unmistakable  solemnities  to  its 
citizenship.  The  Church  on  earth  is  the  kingdom  of  Christ, 
and  He  is  its  king.  All  within  it  are  citizens  of  the  holy 
nation,  and  His  subjects.     All  outside  its  limits  are  aliens. 

We  go  on,  therefore,  to  apply  the  principles  we  have  been 
bringing  forth  to  the  matter  in  hand, — the  means  of  the  Church 
as  the  kingdom  of  God,  under  His  laws,  for  remedying  the  in- 
subordination of  man's  nature,  considered  as  one  of  the  conse- 
quences of  original  sin.    And  before  we  enter  upon  this  subject 


REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM.  225 

at  greater  length,  we  shall  make  the  same  proviso  that  we  did 
when  considering  the  Church  as  the  sphere  in  which  the  ig- 
norance of  man  is  remedied.  In  that  chapter  we  considered 
that  although  the  Church  is  the  school  of  heaven,  the  sphere 
of  illumination  to  man,  and  all  its  institutions  are  means  of 
that  light,  still  these  are  but  means,  the  efficient  cause  being 
twofold, — the  Spirit  of  the  Father  and  the  Son,  which  employs 
these  means ;  and  the  faculty  that  receives  them,  being  in  man 
a  living  faith.  So,  it  must  be  said,  is  the  case  with  the  Church 
considered  as  the  kingdom  of  Christ.  It  is  the  Spirit,  in  the 
Church,  that  employs  all  her  ministries  to  bring  us  under  obe- 
dience to  the  law  of  God  and  Christ.  And  again,  in  man, 
within  the  Church,  it  is  his  living  faith  that  avails  itself  to  the 
full  of  all  these  means.  But  still  there  actually  are  in  existence 
outward  means  instituted  to  these  ends,  which  the  Spirit  em- 
ploys and  faith  receives  and  puts  to  use.  As  such  we  discuss 
them,  their  action  and  their  influence. 

"We  shall  take  an  adult, — one,  we  will  suppose,  who  has 
grown  up  to  mature  years  without  regeneration.  Professing 
repentance  from  past  sin,  and  faith  in  Christ,  he  comes  forward 
to  the  baptism  of  Christ,  and  is  therein  born  anew.  !Now,  do 
we  tell  the  man  that  the  righteousness  of  Christ  is  imputed  to 
him,  as  the  Calvinists  say  ;  or,  with  the  Roman  Catholics,  that 
"  the  whole  of  that  which  in  him  has  the  nature  of  sin,  is 
taken  away  V  ^  No ;  certainly  not.  The  man  is  brought  into 
the  Church.  He  has  implanted  within  him  the  seed  of  the  spirit- 
ual life.  All  his  past  sins  are  forgiven ;  all  the  means  of  grace  are 
given  him  that  his  needs  require.  But  still  his  new  birth  into 
the  kingdom  of  God  in  this  world  is  not  that  consummated  and 
perfected  regeneration  which  it  shall  be  when  completed  at  the 
Judgment  Day.  The  infection  of  nature  doth  yet  remain  in 
them  that  are  regenerated,  our  Article  truly  tells  us. 

* "  If  any  one  assert  that  the  whole  of  that  (in  man)  which  hath  the 
nature  of  sin  is  not  taken  away  (in  baptism),  but  that  it  is  only  erased 
(scraped  over,  eradi)  or  not  imputed,  let  him  be  accursed." — Council  of  Trent, 
Session  V.,  Decree  concerning  Original  Sin. 

15 


226  REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM. 

What,  then,  is  the  state  of  that  man  within  the  Church  of 
Christ  according  to  the  doctrine  of  the  Church  ?  It  is  a  state 
of  conflict  between  the  new  implanted  life  and  the  old  de- 
pravation. It  is,  on  his  part,  practically  a  state  of  constant 
struggle  against  temptation  and  sin.  But,  of  a  struggle  with 
all  advantages  upon  his  side,  and  all  hopes ;  nay,  with  the  abso- 
lute certainty  of  ultimate  and  complete  success,  if  he  only 
hold  fast  the  assurance  of  faith  firm  unto  the  end.  For  we  are 
within  the  kingdom  of  Christ,  sworn  soldiers  of  our  King, 
with  His  life  within  us.  His  almighty  power  upon  our  side, 
controlling  all  the  circumstances  that  environ  us.  The  whole 
spiritual  world  of  the  host  of  heaven  is  for  us.  Angels  and 
archangels,  cherubim  and  seraphim, — these,  if  we  may  trust 
His  word,  are  ministering  spirits  unto  us.  Again,  the  Holy 
Spirit  is  with  us,  aiding  us  in  our  warfare  in  manifold  ways. 
"  The  Spirit  also  helpeth  our  infirmities :  for  we  know  not 
what  we  should  pray  for  as  we  ought :  but  the  Spirit  itself 
maketh  intercession  for  us  with  groanings  which  cannot  be 
uttered."  *  The  Spirit  helpeth  our  infirmities.  And,  as  we 
have  seen  in  this  chapter,  the  Law  of  God  is  brought  forth  to 
our  knowledge  in  a  thousand  ways,  through  all  the  services  of 
the  Church,  all  the  sacraments,  all  the  ministrations  of  her  clergy. 
And  with  all  these  instructions  in  God's  Law — all  these  demands 
upon  our  obedience — constant  grace  is  given  us,  assisting  us 
to  obey.  Power  to  abstain  from  sin  and  ability  to  overcome 
temptation  is,  in  the  Church  of  God,  perpetually  held  forth 
and  given  to  the  outstretched  hand  of  a  living  faith.  This 
conflict,  therefore,  of  the  regenerate  man,  this  warfare  his 
whole  life  through  with  sin,  is  difierent  in  everything  from 
the  struggle  of  unregenerate  human  nature,  spoken  of  in  the 
seventh  chapter  of  the  Romans, f — that  sad  and  melancholy 
and  despairing  struggle  in  which  all  men  are  entangled,  and  all 
men  are  conquered  who  do  not  take  refuge  in  Christ. 

How  far  Christians,  by  misusing  their  Gospel  privileges,  by 
sinning  against  light  and  against  knowledge,  may  reduce  them- 
*  Rom.  viii.  26.  f  Rom.  vii.  5-24. 


REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM.  227 

selves  to  the  state  of  heathens,  and  bring  despair  upon  them- 
selves, we  do  not  know.  But  it  is  certain  that  in  all  ordinary 
eases  of  habitual  faith,  the  Christian  is  not  to  be  described  by 
the  passage  we  have  alluded  to,  only  the  despair  and  agony  of 
the  unbelieving  and  unregenerated  man. 

Now  let  us  look  at  the  course  of  an  adult  brought  by  bap- 
tism within  the  Church  of  God  upon  earth,  and  we  shall  find 
that  it  is  distinctly  analogous  to  the  course  of  an  alien  who,  in 
full  maturity,  has  become  a  citizen  of  another  country  than  that 
wherein  he  was  born.  The  man  has  vowed  himself  willingly 
and  sincerely  unto  God  through  Christ.  He  professes  faith  in 
Christ,  and  that  he  will  obediently  keep  God's  will  and  com- 
mandments all  the  days  of  his  life.  And  yet  all  the  habits  of  his 
native  land  wherein  he  was  born,  abide  with  him, — its  language, 
its  modes  of  thought,  its  ways  of  action  in  all  the  relations  of 
life.  For  a  man  who  has  for  years  lived  in  sin,  or  in  mere 
carelessness,  unconverted  and  unregenerate,  the  habits,  the 
modes  of  thinking,  nay,  the  very  tone  of  his  past  life,  is  the 
one  great  difficulty.  He  has,  with  a  continued  efibrt  of  his  will, 
oftentimes  a  very  hard  and  struggling  effort  to  subdue  the 
influences  and  results  of  the  past  upon  his  present  being,  to 
bring  his  whole  nature  under  the  law  of  the  Gospel,  the  obedi- 
ence of  Christ.  "  Ye  have  not  yet  resisted  unto  blood,  striving 
against  sin,"  *  says  the  Apostle,  showing  how  great  the  agony 
of  the  strife  against  habitual  sin  in  the  new-born  Christian  soul 
may  be ;  "I  keep  under  my  body,  and  bring  it  into  subjection  : 
lest  by  any  means,  when  I  have  preached  to  others,  I  myself 
should  become  a  castaway."  f  Of  himself,  the  Apostle  says 
this,  showing  that  even  in  him  the  lawlessness,  the  rebellious 
habits  of  nature,  had  with  many  struggles  to  be  subdued  unto 
Christ. 

Look  at  the  multitude  of  baptized  men  and  women  that  you 

see.     All  these  have  in  themselves  that  moral  peculiai-ity  that 

belongs  to  all  human  beings,  that  there  being  for  them  these 

three  modes  of  action — deeds,  words,  and  thoughts;  the  first 

*  Heb.  xii.  4.  f  I.  Cor.  ix.  27. 


228  REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM. 

two  are  manifest  to  men,  the  last  is  hidden  from  their  fellows, 
only  known  to  God  and  the  man's  own  heart.  And  yet,  in  the 
secret  world  of  man's  thought,  moral  guilt  is  just  as  great  as  in 
the  sphere  of  speech  or  action.  In  it,  unquestionably,  the  mass 
of  sins  and  temptations  originate,  from  the  suggestions  of  evil 
spirits,  from  the  man's  own  corrupt  heart,  from  diseased  and 
depraved  imaginations.  And  with  this  internal  anarchy,  this 
central  chaos  and  tumult  of  the  soul  to  subdue  unto  the  law 
of  God,  the  man  enters  within  the  Church,  truly  sorrowing  for 
his  past  sins,  deeply  believing,  seeking  a  Saviour  to  redeem  him, 
not  simply  from  the  penalty  of  sins  that  are  past  and  gone,  but 
from  the  power  of  sin,  from  this  internal  rebellious  and  turbid 
world,  this  despotic  anarchy  of  the  secret  heart. 

And  this  is  actually  the  fact  when  men  have  had  a  true 
repentance  and  a  true  faith, — when  they  have  sincerely  and 
earnestly  made  profession  of  them,  and  been  baptized  into  Christ. 
What  they  need,  therefore,  and  what  they  desire,  is  that  Christ 
should  come  to  reign  within  them ;  that,  as  a  real  fact  of  their 
internal  consciousness,  the  spirit  of  Christ  should  bring  all  the 
jarring  elements  within  the  man  under  obedience  to  the  law  of 
liberty ;  so  that,  freely,  of  his  own  will,  and  yet  by  a  controlling 
power  not  of  himself,  he  may  be  enabled  to  rule  himself  and 
his  inmost  thoughts  according  to  the  royal  law,  the  law  of 
liberty.  This,  we  say,  is  the  one  great  necessity  of  the  men 
and  women  of  this  day,  especially  in  view  of  the  manifold 
popular  doctrines  which  energetically  enough,  and  with  real 
truth,  preach  the  need  of  repentance  and  faith,  and  then,  after 
that,  seem  to  be  utterly  unconscious  of  anything  else, — seem  to 
ignore  any  further  needs  on  the  part  of  the  regenerate  man,  and 
to  leave  him  to  scramble  on  by  himself  as  best  he  may — without 
guidance,  without  governance,  without  aid — in  the  strife  which 
all  men,  even  the  regenerate  and  baptized  sons  of  God,  must 
endure  in  this  world. 

Now,  we  say,  are  not  these,  facts  of  the  inner  heart — these 
things  that  we  have  alleged  ?  Are  they  not  true  ?  Do  they  not 
then  of  themselves  require  a  kingdom  of  heaven  upon  earth, 


REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM.  229 

an  actual  and  real  spiritual  kingdom,  existing  in  fact  and  truth, 
and  no  mere  metaphor?  Do  they  not  demand  the  presence 
and  the  dominion  of  the  Living  Christ  within  that  kingdom, — 
reigning  and  governing,  protecting,  punishing,  and  pardoning, 
by  his  infinite  powers,  his  omniscience  and  omnipresence, — as 
much  king,  in  things  internal  and  external,  to  the  poorest  and 
weakest  and  feeblest  child  of  the  kingdom  as  to  the  most  edu- 
cated and  most  able  ? 

Again, — do  they  not  imply  a  law  of  that  kingdom,  patent 
and  manifest  to  all  His  subjects,  and  within  their  reach  ;  and  also 
means  of  obedience  to  that  law  on  the  part  of  the  subjects  of 
Christ,  the  citizens  of  that  heavenly  kingdom,  whereby,  after 
entrance  within  it,  the  disordered  heart  shall  be  controlled  and 
the  inner  chaos  reduced  to  order  ?  Surely  they  do.  It  is  only 
by  means  of  blind  prejudice  and  inadequate  conceptions  that 
a  truth  and  a  fact  so  grand,  so  necessary  to  man,  so  distinctly 
asserted  over  the  whole  of  the  New  Testament  as  the  kingdom 
of  heaven  is,  could  in  any  way  have  been  denied,  as  it  is  by 
many  Christians  at  this  day. 

The  Church  upon  earth  is  the  kingdom  of  heaven,  the 
kingdom  of  God.  It  was  actually  founded  upon  the  day  of 
Pentecost.  Since  that  time  it  has  been  really  and  truly  in  ex- 
istence upon  the  earth.  Christ  our  Lord, — the  Word  incarnate, 
man  made  perfect,  seated  on  the  right  hand  of  the  Majesty  on 
high,  clothed  with  omniscience  and  omnipotence, — is  our  King. 
He  is  ever  present  for  us  in  the  Church,  ever  leading  us  in  the 
great  conflict  against  evil  that  is  going  on  in  the  world,  never 
to  cease  until  the  consummation  of  all  things.  Externally  and 
internally  the  enemies  of  that  kingdom  shall  be  subdued,  or 
perish,  unto  Him.  The  Jewish  nation  was  overthrown,  the 
bitterest  foes  of  Christ.  The  Homan  empire  sank  in  ruins,  the 
sternest  enemy  of  the  spiritual  kingdom  of  God  upon  earth. 
Every  nation  and  every  man  that  is  essentially  hostile  to  this 
kingdom,  its  principles  and  its  progress  onward,  shall  be  sub- 
dued, or  overthrown,  or  taken  out  of  its  way. 

The  power  of  the  God-man,  enthroned  on  high,  exerting 


230  REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM. 

itself  through  the  feebleness,  the  failures,  the  weaknesses  of  the 
visible  Church  upon  earth,  against  the  thrones,  dominions,  prin- 
cipalities, and  powers  of  evil,  unseen  and  seen,  in  a  ceaseless, 
yet  ever-gaining  conflict, — this  is  the  Christian  principle  of 
history.  And  the  final  cause  is  that  in  this  world,  even  here 
upon  earth,  before  the  Judgment  Day,  there  shall  be  a  time 
when  Satan  and  his  hosts  shall  be  bound,  when  man  shall  be 
freed  from  their  temptations  and  suggestions,  when  over  the 
whole  world  the  kingdom  and  Church  of  Christ  shall  spread, 
and  "the  earth  shall  be  full  of  the  knowledge  of  the  Lord,  as 
the  waters  cover  the  sea."*  That  such  an  era  shall  come  into 
being  in  this  world,  is  the  doctrine  of  the  Gospel  most  plainly 
asserted. 

And  that  the  kingdom  of  God  is  now  in  actual  existence 
upon  the  earth,  as  the  Church  of  Christ,  having  a  King  and  a 
law,  and  everything  else  that  is  implied  in  the  idea  of  a  kingdom, 
is  most  evident  from  the  New  Testament.  "  Our  commonwealth 
(^oXlTtOfia,  a  state  in  which  we  have  the  privileges  of  citizens, 
not  '  conversation,'  as  the  English  version  has  it)  is  in  heaven, 
from  whence  also  we  look  for  the  Saviour,  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ."  "  And  ye  are,"  says  St.  Peter,  "  the  elect  race,  the 
royal  priesthood,  the  holy  nation,  the  purchased  people ;  that  ye 
may  show  forth  the  virtues  of  Him  who  hath  called  you  out  of 
darkness  into  His  marvellous  light."f  In  fact,  so  far  as  the  Chris- 
tian Church  is  concerned,  it  has,  as  the  kingdom  of  Christ,  all 
the  blessings  and  the  privileges  that  the  Jewish  nation  had,  re- 
garded as  a  polity.  It  is  the  election,  that  is,  the  chosen  peo- 
ple. It  is  the  kingdom  of  God  upon  the  earth ;  and  Christ  is 
its  King,  reigning  and  ever  present  in  it.  But  it  is  no  longer 
confined  to  the  bounds  of  a  single  nation, — it  is  Catholic,  to 
reign  over  the  whole  world  finally,  and  to  receive  all  men 
within  its  borders.  It  is  spiritual,  no  longer  concerned  with 
things  merely  of  this  world ;  it  is  concerned  with  the  consum- 
mation of  all  things — God  manifest  in  the  flesh ;  man  regen- 
erate and  new  bom  through  the  second  Adam.  And  the 
*  Isaiah,  xi.  9.  \\.  Pet.  ii.  9. 


REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM.  231 

world  itself,  and  all  things  in  it,  are  even  now,  in  a  certain 
sense,  sanctified  through  His  incarnation,  and  its  consequences 
to  the  Church  of  God  on  the  earth.* 

Under  tliat  old  dispensation,  within  the  temple  was  the 
Holy  Place;  and  again,  separated  from  it,  was  the  Holy  of 
Holies,  in  which  God  the  "Word,  the  King  of  Israel,  dwelt 
within  the  veil,  between  the  cherubim,  in  the  glory  (the  She- 
kinah)  that  ever  abode  upon  the  mercy-seat.  Now,  the  whole 
world  has  become  the  Temple  of  our  King.  The  earth  is  sanc- 
tified and  become  the  Holy  Place  for  his  Church, — and  the 
highest  heaven  is  for  us  the  Holy  of  Holies,  wherein  our  King 
dwells  for  us,  within  the  veil,  ever  present,  ever  ruling,  ever 
reigning  among  his  people,  as  of  old  in  the  tabernacle,  among 
the  host  of  Israel  in  the  desert.  And  now  He  is  Immanuel, 
God  with  us, — that  is,  God  incarnate,  God  manifest  in  the  flesh, 
God  born  of  a  M^oman  ;  the  Sovereign  of  the  Universe  by  His 
eternal  generation  from  the  Father — He  is  King,  also,  by  his 
incarnation,  over  His  own  kingdom,  the  Church  of  God  upon 
the  earth. 

What,  then,  is  the  baptized  man,  the  regenerate  son  of  God, 
to  expect  from  his  being  a  citizen  of  the  Church,  considered  as 
the  kingdom  of  God,  and  a  subject  and  servant  of  Christ,  as 
in  truth  and  reality  our  King  ? 

This  he  is  to  expect :  that,  in  consequence  of  the  prayers, 
the  good  works,  the  faith,  the  examples  of  the  justified  within 
the  Church  of  God,  the  struggle  between  good  and  evil  in  this 
world,  the  fight  of  faith  in  the  world's  history,  is  rapidly  con- 
verging, is  coming  nearer  and  nearer  to  its  final  victory.  On 
the  part  of  our  Lord  and  His  kingdom,  the  era  is  approaching 
when  He  shall  reign  and  Satan  shall  be  bound.  This  is  the 
object  and  the  result,  for  the  world,  of  the  faith  and  the  prayers 
of  each  baptized  and  believing  Christian  in  the  world. 

Next  is  he  bound  to  believe  that,  as  Christ  our  Lord  is 
King,  perfect  man  and  perfect  God,  on  the  throne  of  the 
universe,  so  for  us,  who  are  His  brethren  in  the  Church,  are  the 
*  St.  James,  i.  18 ;  Rom.  xi.  16. 


232  REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM. 

powers  of  that  royalty  exerted, — Omnipotence,  stooping  for  us 
from  the  throne, — Onmiscience,  beholding  all  that  is  within  our 
hearts,  of  frailties  and  feeblenesses,  of  wants  and  necessities, — 
considering  the  poorest,  the  weakest,  the  feeblest  of  the 
children  of  the  kingdom,  in  all  their  circumstances,  and  by 
almighty  power  and  all-seeing  wisdom, — infinite  compassion, 
humanity,  and  tenderness,  made  perfect,  glorified,  and  deified, 
arranging,  controlling,  and  regulating  all  the  events  of  life 
around  the  baptized  and  believing  Christian  man, — so  that  all 
things  shall  work  together  for  his  good.  And  all  this  done,  in 
reference  to  our  peculiar  nature  and  the  circumstances  that  are 
around  us,  by  Christ  our  King,  for  every  member  of  the  king- 
dom. This  control  and  dominion  over  the  circumstances 
wherein  the  man  is,  for  his  good,  by  the  power  of  his  Almighty 
King,  each  Christian,  each  regenerated  person,  possesses  as  a 
right,  by  the  fact  that  he  is  within  the  kingdom  of  Christ,  on 
the  one  condition  of  a  living  faith. 

But,  more  than  this,  he  has  a  law  as  subject  of  a  kingdom, 
a  law  spiritual  and  living,  proceeding  from  his  King,  and 
received  by  him  with  faith,  and  forming  him  anew  in  the 
image  of  Christ.  Listen  to  the  Apostle  St.  Paul,  contrasting 
the  living  law  of  the  kingdom  of  Heaven  with  Jewish  and 
Pharisaic  legislation,  showing  how  faith,  through  grace,  seizes 
upon  the  inner  power  of  the  eternal  law  in  the  kingdom  of 
Heaven,  and  makes  it  the  law  of  life,  the  law  of  liberty,  the 
law  of  the  kingdom  of  Heaven,  the  royal  law :  "  There  is 
therefore  no  condemnation  to  them  who  are  in  Christ  Jesus,  if 
they  walk  not  *  after  the  flesh,  but  after  the  Spirit.  For  the 
law  of  the  Spirit  of  Life  in  Christ  Jesus  hath  made  me  free 
from  the  law  of  sin  and  death.  For  what  the  law  could  not 
do,  in  that  it  was  weak  through  the  flesh,  God  sending  His  own 
Son  in  the  likeness  of  sinful  flesh,  and  for  sin  hath  condemned 
sin  in  the  flesh :  that  the  righteous  demands  {dcxauofjtd)  of  the 
law  might  be  fulfilled  by  us,  if  we  walk  not  after  the  flesh,  but 

*  This  conditional  sense  does  not  appear  in  the  Latin  or  English,  but  is 
the  real  and  actual  meaning  of  the  Greek  original. 


REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM.  233 

after  the  Spirit.  For  they  that  are  after  the  flesh  regard  the 
things  of  the  flesh;  and  they  that  are  after  the  Spirit,  the 
things  of  the  Spirit."  * 

What,  then,  in  reference  to  the  law,  is  the  state  of  the  Chris- 
tian man  considered  as  a  member  of  the  kingdom  of  Christ  his 
King  ?  This,  that  because  of  the  insubordination  of  nat- 
ure, as  one  of  the  effects  of  original  sin,  he  requires  a  spiritual 
law  to  control,  rule,  and  govern  his  whole  nature — body,  soul, 
and  spirit, — to  bring  him  "  from  the  bondage  of  corruption  into 
the  glorious  hberty  of  the  sons  of  God."f  And  being  within 
the  kingdom,  he  receives  the  law  from  manifold  means,  and  in 
multiform  shapes,  by  the  one  faculty  and  power  of  a  living 
faith. 

Let  us  look  at  Christ,  in  the  aspect  of  His  kingdom,  and  we 
shall  see  in  how  manifold  ways  this  gift  is  given  to  the  baptized 
man.  See,  as  we  have  said,  how  every  Sunday  the  law  of  God 
is  set  forth  in  its  most  definite  and  perfect  shape,  that  of  the 
Ten  Commandments.  See  how  the  Christian  is  made  to  apply 
it  to  himself,  personally  to  acknowledge  its  obligation,  and  yet 
to  unite  it  in  his  thoughts  with  the  atonement  of  Christ  and 
the  grace  of  the  Spirit, — to  accept  it  as  interpreted  by  our  Lord. 

Again :  look  at  this  one  fact, — the  reading  of  the  New  Tes- 
tament constantly  in  the  audience  of  the  people.  We  do  not 
underrate  this  reading  as  a  means  of  knowledge  and  spiritual 
illumination  ;  still,  we  cannot  but  look  upon  the  Old  and  the 
New  Testament  in  the  aspect  of  law :  the  Old  Testament  con- 
veying the  most  perfect  revealed  law  of  objective  morality  that 
could  be  given  to  man ;  the  New,  the  same  law  in  effect,  but 
spiritual,  in  connection  with  the  merits  of  Christ,  the  grace 
of  the  Spirit,  the  kingdom  of  God  in  the  world,  and  the  living 
faith  of  the  Christian.  And  when  we  hear  the  Gospels,  the 
Epistles,  the  Revelation,  read  in  the  audience  of  the  people  of 
God  assembled  in  the  church  for  that  purpose — the  minister 
reading  with  authority,  the  people  listening  with  assent  and 
consent — we  cannot  but  think  that  this  is  a  great  work  done  in 
*  Rom.  viii.  1-5.  f  Rom.  viii,  21. 


234  REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM. 

the  Church  to  that  very  end  which  we  have  spoken  of.  The 
whole  law,  of  Christ  spiritually,  being  received  and  applied  in 
the  silence  of  the  heart,  to  the  frailness,  the  sinfulness,  the  re- 
belliousness of  the  inner  man, — we  cannot  but  think  that  the 
whole  New  Testament,  day  by  day,  month  by  month,  and  year 
by  year,  thus  read  through  before  the  people  in  their  own 
tongue,  gives  to  the  hand  and  the  eye  of  faith,  the  gift  of  a 
knowledge  and  instruction  in  the  whole  law  of  God  which  man 
needs,  and  which  the  Church  has  ever  supplied, — an  instruc- 
tion which,  it  is  most  sorrowful  to  see  that  they,  on  the 
one  hand,  who  assert  the  highest  Church  authority,  and  they,  on 
the  other,  who  most  fervently  extol  the  necessity  of  faith,  almost 
altogether  omit ;  but  which,  in  primitive  Christianity,  made  up 
the  lai'gest  part  of  the  public  service  of  the  Church. 

If,  in  continuation  of  the  same  view,  we  look  at  the  Chris- 
tian man,  through  a  whole  lifetime  attending  upon  the  services 
of  the  Church  of  God — liturgical  as  they  are,  and  therefore  per- 
petually recurring,  and  placed  exclusively  upon  the  ground  of 
authority,  and  not  upon  that  of  personal  ability  or  eloquence — 
we  can  see  how  the  perpetual  use  of  them  in  faith,  is  a  lifelong 
application  to  the  inner  heart  of  man — excitable  and  rebellious 
as  it  is — of  an  unvarying  spiritual  law.  If  we  look  at  the  Old 
Testament  and  at  the  I^^ew,  as  read  and  heard  in  the  Church — • 
at  the  Book  of  Psalms  especially,  that  great  liturgic  instrument 
of  holiness,  used  responsively  with  such  reverent  estimation 
from  the  earliest  days  of  the  Church  down  to  the  present  time ; 
if  we  look  again  at  the  Litanies,  the  Services,  the  Prayers,  the 
Collects,  of  the  Book  of  Common  Prayer,  and  consider  each 
baptized  man,  using  all  these  persistently  his  whole  life  through, 
— what  is  all  this  for  him  but  one  great  code  of  spiritual  law, 
precise  and  exact  in  its  language  and  definitions,  yet  spreading 
out  into  an  endless  and  limitless  sea  of  application,  embracing 
all  ages,  all  conditions,  all  characters  in  its  comprehensiveness  1 
What  else  do  we  see,  then,  in  the  actual  work  of  the  Church 
upon  the  insubordination  of  man's  heart,  than  the  work  of  God's 
law  upon  the  soul  of  the  regenerated  man,  yearning  for  such  a 


REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM.  235 

discipline  as  this,  and  by  faith  receiving  it,  and  submitting  to 
it, — aiid  the  ever-present  Almighty  Spirit  of  the  Father  and  the 
Son  applying  it  to  the  heart  ?  And  thus  in  the  Church  of  God 
there  is  always  at  work  "  the  Law  of  the  Spirit  of  Life  making 
us  free  from  the  Law  of  Sin  and  Death."* 

AV^e  could  go  much  further  with  these  considerations ;  but 
enough  has  been  said  to  show  the  baptized  man  the  value  of 
his  position  in  the  Church,  as  the  kingdom  of  God,  and  the 
great  import'knce  of  all  its  means,  as  instruments  of  spiritual 
Law,  in  the  kingdom  of  our  King,  forming  and  moulding  and 
shaping  us  in  the  image  of  Christ  our  Lord,  "  until  we  come, 
in  the  unity  of  the  faith,  and  of  the  knowledge  of  the  Son  of 
God,  unto  the  perfect  man,  unto  the  measure  of  the  stature  of 
the  fulness  of  Christ." 

We  need  hardly  apologize  for  bringing  forward  so  fully 
these  ideas,  lying,  as  they  do,  upon  the  face  of  the  New  Testa- 
ment. But,  as  they  have  passed  away  from  the  ordinary 
current  of  Christian  opinion  outside  the  Church,  we  have 
thought  it  right  to  place  before  the  minds  of  those  within  its 
fold,  the  idea  of  the  Church  as  the  kingdom  of  heaven, — one  of 
the  truest  and  most  fruitful  ideas  of  the  Christian  faith, — that 
they  may  fully  see  all  the  privileges  they  have,  as  being  within 
it,  and  all  the  duties  they  owe  to  its  King,  as  being  subject 
perpetually  to  all  the  obligations  and  influences  of  His  Law. 

*  Rom.  viii.  3. 


CHAPTER    YII. 

Regeneration  implies,  as  we  have  seen,  first,  a  new  life, 
and,  secondly,  a  sphere  of  that  new  life  actually  existing,  that 
is,  the  Church  of  God.  "We  have,  in  the  last  two  chapters, 
considered  the  Church  as  being  to  the  baptized  man,  first,  a 
sphere  of  spiritual  illumination ;  secondly,  as  being  the  king- 
dom of  heaven,  in  which  the  law  of  God,  having  through 
Christ  lost  its  condemnatory  aspect,  has  become  to  the  regen- 
erate the  law  of  life  and  liberty.  We  now  come  to  consider 
the  Church  as  a  society  wherein  to  man  are  given  all  the  means 
of  absolution  and  remission  of  sins, — all  gathered  within  the 
Church,  as  in  a  new  world,  the  breath  and  air  of  which  is 
freedom  and  forgiveness  to  the  soul  that  has  a  living  faith. 
We  do  not  say  that  forgiveness  of  sins  is  not  given  to  any 
except  within  the  Church  of  God,  because  "  in  every  nation, 
he  that  feareth  God,  and  worketh  righteousness,  is  accepted  of 
Him,"  because  "  the  Spirit  is  sent  to  all  men,"  and  "  the 
Light  lighteneth  every  man  that  cometh  into  the  world!" 
The  individual  man,  outside  the  Church  by  the  force  of  inevit- 
able circumstances,  we  do  not  deny,  may  have  great  faith  in 
God,  and  receive  the  benefits  of  it.  Just  so  the  same  man, 
cast  out  by  unforeseen  circumstances  upon  a  desolate  island, 
apart  from  all  social  or  national  organization,  may  live,  and  be, 
to  a  certain  degree,  happy. 

Yet  how  absurd  it  would  be  to  take  Crusoe  or  Selkirk  for 
our  model,  and  to  urge  upon  the  man  in  crowded  cities  and 
populous  nations  to  pattern  himself  according  to  their  lives  !  to 
say  to  him,  "  Upon  yourself  exclusively,  and  upon  what  you 
can  obtain  by  your  own  hands  and  by  your  own  work,  unas- 


REGENERATION  IX  BAPTISM.  237 

sisted  by  all  the  varied  organization  of  labor  in  the  nation,  you 
shall  rely !  "  What  an  absurdity  this  would  be  !  And  j'et 
what  better  is  it  to  tell  the  repentant  sinner,  when  he  has  come 
to  liave  faith  in  Christ,  that  there  is  actually  no  kingdom  of 
heaven  upon  earth, — all  that  is  a  mere  figure  !  that  there  is 
no  Church  of  God  existing  in  the  world, — it  is  an  abstraction ! 
that  it  is  only  upon  his  own  individual  faith,  without  any 
means  of  grace, — without  any  evidence  outside  himself, — 
without  any  assurance  but  his  own  personal,  internal  convic- 
tion,— that  he  has  to  rely  upon  for  certainty,  for  salvation,  for 
pardon  of  all  his  sins  ? 

Now,  we  ask,  is  not  this  the  ordinary  religion  ?  Is  it  not 
a  denial  of  all  the  means  of  grace,  a  sheer  unbelieving  denial 
of  every  means  which  God  has  appointed  for  the  salvation  of 
man, — a  denial  of  the  plainest  asseverations  of  Scripture,  of  the 
very  words  of  Holy  Writ  ?  We  have  seen  it  in  its  results  upon 
men, — ignorance  and  contemptuous  scorn  of  all  doctrine, — self- 
conceit  that  feels  no  need  of  knowledge,  but  is  wrapped  up  in 
its  immediate  notions ;  that  talks  of  the  Scriptures,  but  reads 
them  most  unfrequently, — arrogance  that  scorns  all  creeds,  and 
yet  most  bitterly  and  most  proscriptively  imposes  any  whims 
of  the  day  as  terms  of  communion, — and  finally,  as  a  result  of 
all  this,  in  the  ordinary  Christianity,  absolute  uncertainty, 
absolute  infidelity,  on  the  part  of  huge  masses  of  people  who, 
under  earnest  and  fervent  preaching  of  repentance  and  faith, 
have  truly  and  sincerely  made,  at  one  time  or  another,  pro- 
fession of  Christ. 

For  our  Saviour  himself  had  said, — "  Except  a  man  be 
born  of  water  and  of  the  Spirit,  he  cannot  enter  into  the  king- 
dom of  God."*  St.  Peter  had  said, — "Kepent,  and  be  bap- 
tized every  one  of  you  in  the  name  of  Jesus  Christ  for  the 
remission  of  sins,  and  ye  shall  receive  the  gift  of  the  Holy 
Spirit."  t  Our  Saviour  had  said, — "  He  that  believeth  and  is 
baptized  shall  be  saved ;  he  that  disbelieveth  shall  be  damned.";}: 
And  here,  in  this  land,  men  have  preached  repentance  and 
*  St.  John,  iii.  5.  f  Acts,  ii.  38.  %  St.  Mark,  xvi.  16. 


238  REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM. 

faith  most  fervently,  and  just  as  fervently  they  have  preached 
against  baptism  and  all  its  realities !  They  preached  to  men 
the  full  requirements  for  admission  into  the  Church  of 
Christ,  and  then,  just  as  energetically  have  they  preached 
that  there  is  no  Church  of  Christ !  no  baptism  for  the 
remission  of  sins !  no  sacraments  in  any  Christian  sense ! 
no  means  of  grace  outside  the  man  himself  and  his  mere  per- 
sonal faith  !  Oh,  what  a  result  upon  the  nation  is  there  now, 
in  consequence  of  this  fervent,  one-sided  preaching,  this  faith 
that  went  forth  forty  years  ago,  with  half  the  Gospel  in  one 
hand,  and  in  the  other  hand,  a  furious  denunciation  and  a  rabid 
denial  of  the  remainder  as  exclusiveness,  bigotry,  proscrip- 
tiveness.  Popery  ! 

What  a  different  state  had  the  nation  been  in  if  those  men, 
so  fervent  in  their  assertion  of  the  necessity  to  man  of  repent- 
ance from  past  sins  and  faith  in  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  had  had, 
moreover,  in  their  souls,  the  solemn  and  heartfelt  conviction  of 
the  grand  truth  and  fact  of  the  existence  of  God's  Church 
upon  the  earth, — if  they  had  believed  the  doctrine  of  regenera- 
tion, of  the  new  life  given  to  man  upon  the  earth,  of  the 
entrance  of  man,  even  here,  in  this  world,  into  the  kingdom  of 
heaven, — if,  then,  as  a  preparation  for  this  supernatural  and  mir- 
aculous work  of  God's  Spirit,  they  had  taken  the  men  and  women, 
who  were  warm  and  pliable  beneath  their  hands,  and  had  trained 
and  taught  them  in  the  Lord's  Prayer,  the  Commandments,  and 
the  Cre.ed,  and  in  all  their  duty  toward  God  and  man,  fixing  in 
them  the  deep  principles  of  Christian  morahty,  and  the  funda- 
mental doctrines  of  the  Christian  faith, — and  had  brought  them 
within  the  Church,  apostolic  in  its  ministry,  and  liturgical  in 
its  worship,  and,  therefore,  authoritative  in  all  its  doctrines, — 
how  many  myriads  thus  taught  and  instructed^  thus  trained, 
thus  furnished  with  a  distinct  religious  faith  and  definite 
religious  principles,  might  have  been  good,  earnest,  sincere, 
consistent  Christians  at  this  day,  instead  of  being  now,  as  they 
are,  scoffing  infidels,  or  cold,  self-satisfied  non-professors. 

But  these  men  went  forth  with  no  apostolic  ministry,  with 


REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM.  239 

no  commission  to  baptize,  without  the  creeds  of  the  Church  or 
its  means  of  grace ;  and,  therefore,  we  have  seen  their  labors 
perish.  And  a  most  melancholy  thing  it  is,  to  see  so  much 
fervor  and  true  zeal,  and  real,  if  misguided,  faith,  fail  in  per- 
manent results.  But  sadder  still  it  is  to  know  that  around  us 
are  great  multitudes  of  men  and  women  in  whose  hearts,  at 
one  time,  real  sorrow  for  past  sins  and  real  faith  in  our  Lord 
Jesus  Christ  existed  fervently,  and  yet  that  these  are  now 
perished  and  dead. 

Truly,  in  reference  to  earnest  teachers  with  imperfect  doc- 
trines and  organizations,  we  may  say,  "  Other  foundation  can 
no  man  lay  than  that  is  laid,  which  is  Jesus  Christ.  Now  if 
any  man  build  upon  this  foundation  gold,  silver,  precious  stones, 
wood,  hay,  stubble ;  every  man's  work  shall  be  made  manifest : 
for  time  shall  declare  it,  because  it  shall  be  revealed  by  fire ; 
and  the  fire  shall  try  every  man's  work  of  what  sort  it  is.  If 
a  man's  work  abide  which  he  hath  built  thereupon,  he  shall  re- 
ceive a  reward.  If  any  man's  work  shall  be  burned  up,  he 
shall  suffer  loss :  but  he  himself  shall  be  saved ;  yet  so  as  by 
fire."*  Looking  at  such  men  as  Calvin  and  Luther,  Edwards 
and  Wesley,  the  founders  of  the  popular  systems  of  the  day, 
and  the  fact  of  their  unquestioned  faith  in  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ,  we  believe  the  above  passage  of  Scripture  to  be  most 
true  with  regard  to  them  and  their  systems.  Time  is  trying 
their  work,  and  it  is  perishing  from  the  foundations.  And  yet 
we  must  feel  deep  sorrow  for  them  that  they  preached  but 
half  the  Gospel,  and  that  because  of  this  their  deficiency,  the 
earnest  repentance  and  the  fervent  faith  of  multitudes  have 
been  poured  out  idly  upon  the  earth.  And  that  at  the  same 
time  that  the  prophets  of  this  mutilated  Gospel  without  a 
Church  were  tens  of  thousands,  spreading  over  the  whole  na- 
tion everywhere,  the  Apostolic  ministry  of  the  Church  of  God 
were  but  six  or  seven  hundred  in  this  land. 

Now,  the  doctrine  which  these  men  preached  is  undoubt- 
edly true, — that  man,  in  a  state  of  nature,  is  under  condemnation 
*I.  Cor.  iii.  11-15. 


240  REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM. 

before  God,  and  as  such,  lie  needs  an  atonement  and  pardon 
for  his  sins, — that  his  state  by  nature  is  a  state  of  guilt.  Does 
not,  then,  a  state  of  condemnation  require  as  its  remedy  a 
state  qf  pardon  f — a  condition  of  guilt,  one  of  forgiveness  f — 
a  world  of  sin  into  which  the  man  is  bom,  a  world  and  sphere 
into  which  he  may  be  new  born,  and  wherein  all  the  objective 
facts  of  that  new  sphere  of  his  existence  shall  be  means  of 
breatliing  upon  him  the  light  of  heaven  and  the  vital  power 
of  the  Holy  Spirit,  the  Giver  of  Life  ?  Surely  the  one  state, 
under  God's  providence,  demands,  suggests,  nay,  implies  and 
proves  the  other,  under  God's  mercy  and  grace. 

The  poverty-stricken,  feeble,  religious  thought  of  this 
present  day  cannot  rise  up  to  that  grand  idea.  It  looks  at 
itself  merely.  Any  change,  it  thinks,  is  in  itself, — none  can 
exist  outside  of  itself.  The  man  was  in  the  world  of  wicked- 
ness before  his  conversion :  he  is  in  it  still.  That  there  is  a 
spiritual  world  upon  this  earth,  a  kingdom  of  heaven  actually  or- 
ganized and  actually  existing,  a  Church  of  God — One  Holy  Cath- 
olic and  Apostolic — this  narrow  religion  only  hears  of  it  to  deny 
it.  And  yet  no  idea  is  more  prominent  than  this  through  the 
whole  of  the  New  Testament ;  nothing  more  plain  than  that 
the  Christian  regeneration  is  not  exclusively  internal — only  a 
change  in  the  man  inwardly — but  is  also  a  change  for  the  man 
outwardly,  in  his  being  transferred  into  a  new  sphere,  wherein 
forgiveness  and  pardon  and  acceptance  with  God  are  the  breath 
and  air  of  that  new  world,  as  condemnation  and  guilt  of  the 
old  state  and  world  of  sin  wherein  he  was  born.  The  first, 
therefore,  is  the  state  of  nature  and  spiritual  death ;  the  second 
is  the  state  of  grace  and  life. 

Now,  let  us  look  on  these  two  states  or  spheres.  We  find 
that  the  very  fact  that  they  are  real  states  and  conditions  im- 
plies a  precise  and  definite  time  and  place  of  transition  from 
the  one  to  the  other,  manifest  and  evident  to  the  man  himself, 
and  also  capable  of  being  testified  to  by  others.  See,  in  civil 
life,  the  entrance  into  citizenship,  into  marriage,  into  the  obli- 
gations of  alliance,  or  contract,  or  of  debt, — how  marked  or 


REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM.  241 

distinct  they  are.  So  it  is  in  religion,  with  these  two  states  of 
condemnation  and  salvation.  In  baptism,  a  covenant  between 
man  and  God  is  publicly  concluded  before  the  whole  congrega- 
tion, by  the  man's  own  consent  and  will ;  on  the  part  of 
God,  His  minister  and  ambassador  is  present ;  the  man  and  his 
sponsors  on  his  part ;  it  takes  place  in  God's  own  house,  sol- 
emnly consecrated  and  set  apart,  and  in  the  most  public  part 
thereof,  with  an  outward  and  visible  sign  and  express  words  of 
obligation,  with  exact  and  unvarying  promises  of  faith,  of  re- 
nunciation, and  of  obedience  on  the  part  of  the  person  ;  kings 
and  paupers,  men  and  women,  adults  and  infants,  make  the 
same  promises.  And  on  the  part  of  God,  the  words  of  Christ 
are  used.  His  words  prescribed  by  Himself  in  the  beginning. 
So  that  the  form  and  matter  of  the  sacrament  has  continued  the 
same,  unvarying  and  unchanged,  for  eighteen  hundred  and 
thirty  years.  What  does  all  this  mean  and  signify  but  the 
termination,  precisely  marked,  of  an  old  condition  and  state, — 
the  entrance  into  a  new  one,  distinctly  defined  ?  And  thus  to 
the  baptized  man,  having  the  qualifications  of  repentance  and 
faith,  the  moment  of  baptism  is  the  precise  moment  of  transi- 
tion, over  a  line  most  definitely  marked,  from  a  state  and  world 
of  condemnation  and  guilt  to  a  state  and  sphere  of  grace  and 
pardon. 

This  doctrine  is  the  doctrine  of  the  Scriptures.  It  is  main- 
tained in  the  Nicene  Creed, — "  I  believe  in  one  baptism  for  the 
remission  of  sins."  And  it  is  only  an  inadequate  conception 
of  the  work  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  an  implicit,  infidel  denial,  that 
in  time  and  place.  He  exerts  His  influence, — only  a  denial  of 
the  reality  of  the  Church,  and  an  utter  loss  of  the  idea  of 
sacraments  in  their  spiritual  effect, — only  the  most  confused 
ideas  of  the  office  of  faith  and  repentance,  that  can  gainsay  this 
truth.  But  for  us,  as  ministers  and  ambassadors  of  the  Church 
of  Christ,  we  can  say  to  the  man  approaching  baptism,  "  Have 
you  a  true  repentance  and  a  real  faith  ?  Then,  for  you,  at  the 
moment  of  your  haptism,  the  Holy  Spirit  applies  to  your,  soul 
the  atonement  and  sacrifice  of  your  Lord  in  whom  you  believe, 
16 


242  REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM. 

and  gives  you  full  and  perfect  forgiveness  of  all  past  sins.  He 
regenerates  you  also  at  that  moment,  and  henceforth,  as  a  son 
of  God,  you  are  within  the  domain  of  grace  and  pardon, — not 
of  condemnation.  "  Christ  hath  redeemed  us  from  the  curse 
of  the  Law."  *  "  Sin  shall  not  have  dominion  over  us,  for  we 
are  not  under  the  Law,  but  under  graced  f  "By  whom  also 
we  have  access  by  faith  unto  this  grace  wherein  we  stand,  and 
we  boast  in  the  hope  of  the  glory  of  God."  X 

Let  us  look  through  the  whole  of  the  New  Testament,  and 
we  shall  see,  throughout,  the  conception  of  a  Church  actually 
existing  upon  the  earth  for  man,  the  kingdom  of  God  in  the 
world,  a  real  and  living  sphere  of  existence  ;  and  within  it,  for 
man,  the  grace  of  the  spirit  ever  breathing  upon  the  flame  of 
the  spiritual  life  that  is  within  him,  with  pardon  from  Christ 
and  grace  and  forgiveness  of  all  sins,  on  the  one  condition  of 
his  acceptance  of  these  gift  with  a  sincere  and  living  faith.  And 
thus  his  former  state  was  a  state  of  condemnation  and  guilt, — 
his  present  state  is  one  of  salvation  and  grace  and  acceptance 
before  God. 

We  are  not  afraid  that  our  readers  should  mistake  us,  know- 
ing, as  they  do,  the  twofold  condition  in  which  all  things  are, 
that  "  all  things  are  double,  one  against  another,  and  God  hath 
made  nothing  imperfect."§  For  instance,  in  the  case  of  health, 
— there  is  a  healthy  or  an  unhealthy  man,  a  healthy  or  an 
unhealthy  climate  around  him.  We  say  the  man  is  healthy 
and  the  climate  healthy,  in  different  and  yet  real  senses.  So 
the  man  is  free,  and  the  country  in  which  he  dwells  is  free.  So 
it  is  with  the  Church.  It  is  for  the  baptized  man  a  state  of 
grace  and  pardon,  and  he  is  within  that  state  actually  ;  hvit  for 
himself,  as  a  baptized  man,  a  son  of  God,  he  is  pardoned, 
only  if  he  have  a  living  faith. 

Of  course,  lying  underneath  this  consideration  is  the  doctrine 
of  the  free  will  of  man,  that  man, — being  regenerate,  is  capable 
of  sinning  by  an  act  of  his  own  free  will.  We  may  further  say 
that  the  Christian  doctrine  of  free  will  is  a  fundamental  doc- 

*  Gal.  iii.  13.    f  Rom.  vi.  14.    \  Eom.  v.  ii.    §  Jesus,  the  son  of  Siracli. 


REGENERATION  IN  BAPTIS3I.  243 

trine,  without  which  religion  is  utterly  impossible.  For  if  man 
have  no  free  will,  he  is  merely  a  grain  of  chaff  floating  upon 
a  midnight  storm,  the  plaything  of  a  blind  and  irresistible  fate. 
And  if  man  has  free  will,  then  he  is  responsible  to  God  and 
man.  On  these  considerations,  the  man  who  is  within  the 
Church  is  in  a  state  of  grace, — and  his  faith  freely  availing  itself 
of  all  the  advantages  he  has,  determines  his  actual  condition. 
It  is  a  fact  that  the  state  of  mere  nature  is  a  state  of  condem- 
nation. It  is  also  a  fact  that  the  Church  of  God  upon  earth, 
abstracted  from  all  consideration  of  the  individual  man,  is  a 
state  of  grace,  of  pardon,  of  forgiveness,  within  which,  because 
of  this  fact  and  truth,  all  men  should  desire  to  enter. 

It  is,  we  admit,  a  hard  thing  for  ordinary  Christians,  who 
have  been  accustomed  to  think  that  there  is  no  spiritual  bless- 
ing of  forgiveness  save  by  their  own  immediate  personal  and 
conscious  efforts,  to  conceive  that  a  calm,  unexcited  state  of 
mind,  that  rests  quietly  in  the  assured  confidence  of  its  citi- 
zenship, is  faith.  But  look  at  this  analogy  guaranteed  by  the 
Scripture  itself.  Here  am  I,  we  will  suppose,  a  citizen  of  an 
earthly  state.  I  go  on  quietly,  my  obedience  to  the  law  is  my 
happiness.  It  is  a  real  obedience.  And  yet  I  am  hardly  con- 
scious of  the  existence  of  the  law,— certainly  not  as  a  compulsory 
rule,  an  external  trammel,  forcing  and  compelling  my  course 
in  a  definite  path.  No ;  the  external  path  of  the  law  of  the 
state  I  travel  in,  not  from  compulsion,  but  from  the  fact  of  my 
internal  principle  of  uprightness,  my  reason  and  my  moral 
feeling,  as  a  citizen  and  a  man.  I  therefore  am  scarcely  con- 
scious of  the  existence  of  the  law.  Yet  it  exists.  It  is  for  me 
almost  unfelt  and  unseen.  But  the  moment  I  transgress  it,  that 
moment  the  law  manifests  itself,  as  ever  in  being,  condemna- 
tory, stringent,  and  stern.  This  fact, — that  the  law  is  as  it 
were  imperceptible  and  indiscernible  to  the  law-abiding  citizen, 
seeming  for  him  almost  non-existent,  and  yet  is  brought  forth  at 
once  to  his  consciousness  by  transgression, — was  fully  evident  to 
St.  Paul,  that  man  of  great  genius,  whose  office  in  the  Church 
seems  to  have  been  the  explanation  of  all  the  mysteries  of  man's 


244  REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM. 

being  by  the  mysteries  of  grace.  "  But  we  know,"  he  says, 
"  that  the  law  is  good,  if  a  man  use  it  lawfully  ;  knowing  this, 
that  the  law  is  not  made  for  a  righteous  man,  but  for  the  law- 
less and  disobedient,  for  the  ungodly  and  for  sinners,  for  the 
unholy  and  profane,  for  the  murderers  of  fathers  and  murder- 
ers of  mothers."  * 

Thus  it  is  with  the  law  of  God  in  the  Church  of  Christ. 
Formerly,  we  were  in  a  state  of  condemnation  ;  now,  of  freedom 
and  forgiveness,  of  salvation,  of  pardon,  and  absolution  from 
sins, — a  state  of  grace  and  mercy,  and  the  atoning  blood  of 
Christ  our  Lord.  And  the  same  relation  that  the  civil  and  crimi- 
nal law,  enacted  by  and  prevailing  in  the  State,  has  to  the  citi- 
zen who,  upon  internal  moral  principle,  abides  by  the  law,  that 
same  relation  has  the  law  to  the  member  of  the  kingdom  of 
Christ  our  Lord,  who  has  the  inward  living  faith.  By  faith 
we  do  the  works  of  the  law, — by  faith  we  are  free  from  the  law, 
— by  faith  we  are  justified  before  God  without  the  law.  The 
law  does  not  cease  to  exist,  but  in  our  heart  a  more  efficient 
principle  reigns,  and  a  more  brilliant  light  exists — the  principle 
of  faith  in  God  through  Christ,  and  the  light  of  the  Spirit. 
And  these  enable  us  to  do  all  the  works  of  the  law, — all  that 
the  law  prescribes  to  man, — by  the  light  they  cast,  and  the  power 
they  give  us.  If  we  cast  these  away  of  our  own  free  will,  if 
we  sin  wilfully  and  consciously,  then  the  light  being  quenched 
in  our  own  souls,  at  once  the  law  reveals  itself  in  the  light  of 
nature, — it  manifests  itself  as  condemnatory.  It  is  made  for 
sinners, — and  heaviest  its  verdict  is  upon  sinners  in  the  Church, 
those  who  willingly  sin  after  they  have  come  to  the  full  "  knowl- 
edge of  the  truth,  and  have  tasted  of  the  heavenly  gift." 

But  for  those  in  the  Church  who  are  in  a  living  faith,  for 
them  there  is  perpetual  light  and  continual  progress  by  all  the 
means  of  grace  that  are  within  the  Church.  For  them,  their 
state  is  one  not  of  condemnation  but  of  salvation  and  absolu- 
tion. By  baptism  their  sins  have  been  forgiven  and  pardoned, 
and  henceforth  all  means  of  grace  received  in  faith  are  means 

*  I.  Timothy,  i.  8,  9. 


REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM.  245 

of  absolution  to  them.  The  Holy  Communion,  first  of  all, 
means, — "  This  is  my  blood  of  the  New  Covenant,  which  is 
shed  for  many  for  the  remission  of  sins,"*  our  Lord  himself 
says.  Again,  in  the  Word  preached  and  received  by  the  faith 
of  the  Christian  man,  there  is  remission  of  sins  in  the  Church 
of  Christ.  Nay,  in  every  prayer  of  the  regenerate  man  there 
is  a  power  of  absolution,  of  receiving  and  of  laying  hold  upon 
forgiveness.  And  by  the  very  fact  of  their  commission 
the  ambassadors  of  Christ  have  the  power  in  the  Church 
ministerially  of  pronouncing  and  declaring  to  the  penitent  the 
absolution  and  remission  of  their  sins.f 

Such  are  to  the  regenerate  man  the  results  of  the  fact  that 
there  is  a  real  kingdom  of  heaven  upon  the  earth,  and  that  he 
is  really  and  truly  in  fact,  and  not  merely  in  idea,  a  member  of 
it.  "  He  that  believeth  on  Him  is  not  condemned :  but  he  that 
believeth  not  is  already  condemned,  because  he  hath  not  be- 
lieved on  the  only  begotten  Son  of  God.":}:  "  There  is  there- 
fore no  condemnation  to  them  that  are  in  Christ  Jesus,  if  they 
walk  not  after  the  Jlesh,  hut  after  the  spirit.  For  the  Law  of 
the  Spirit  of  Life  in  Christ  Jesus  hath  made  me  free  from  the 
Law  of  sin  and  death."§ 

We  have  dwelt  upon  this  consideration,  perhaps,  more  than 
we  otherwise  should  do,  because  of  certain  faults  in  clergy  and 
laity,  which  we  have  seen,  that  show  a  carelessness  of  this 
truth,  and  of  action  upon  it. 

It  is  plainly  asserted  in  Holy  Writ  that  there  are  two  differ- 
ent positions  in  this  world  for  man :  the  man  in  the  state  of 
nature, — the  man  within  the  kingdom  of  heaven.  The  posi- 
tion of  this  last,  manifestly  requires  a  diflt'erent  teaching.  How 
often  have  we  heard  fervent,  sincere  men  preach  to  the  baptized, 
both  good  and  evil,  as  if  they  were  aliens, — under  no  covenant 
and  no  obligations  to  God  in  any  way!  As  if  a  statesman 
should  address  good  citizens  as  foreigners  ;  and  those  citizens, 

*  St.  Matt.  xxvi.  28. 

f  Bishop  Andrewes'  Sermons,  On  the  Absolution  of  Sins,  vol.  v.  p.  83. 

X  St.  John.  iii.  18.  §  Rom.  viii.  1-3. 


246  REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM, 

again,  who  were  really  rebels  and  traitors,  as  mere  alien  ene- 
mies, ignoring  and  casting  aside  in  both  cases  the  fact  of 
their  citizenship ! 

But  grievons  as  this  is,  in  its  effects  upon  the  clergy,  it  is 
far  less  disastrous  than  upon  the  laity,  for  the  Baptismal  Ser- 
vices, which  almost  weekly  the  clergyman  uses,  the  Catechism, 
the  whole  theory  of  the  Prayer  Book,  keep  up  in  the  clerical 
mind  more  or  less  this  doctrine  of  the  kingdom  of  heaven, 
and  all  its  legitimate  consequences.  But  for  themselves  and  for 
their  children,  how  utterly  careless  are  some  of  our  laity,  even 
pious  and  good  people.  Look  at  our  congregations.  They  are 
in  the  Church  for  the  express  purpose  of  liturgical  and  respon- 
sive worship.  They  are  there  with  their  Prayer  Books  by 
them,  with  naught  else,  for  the  time,  to  do  ;  there  in  that  place 
they  are,  at  that  time,  for  that  object.  And  yet  we  all  know  of 
congregations  in  which  a  response  is  hardly  obtained,  a  mere 
faint  whispering  murmur  arises  from  half  a  dozen  or  a  dozen 
among  a  thousand  people,  and  they  seem  afraid  of  their  own 
voices  !  "What  is  this  ?  It  is  utter  thoughtlessness,  utter  ignor- 
ance of  the  great  work  they  can  do  for  their  own  souls,  in  lit- 
urgical worship. 

"We  have  shown  how  these  services,  used  authoritatively  by 
the  clergyman,  accepted  with  faith  by  the  persons  responding, 
are  an  actual  means  of  education  and  instruction.  They  are 
more  important  still  to  the  Christian,  when  we  look  upon  the 
Church  as  the  kingdom  of  Christ,  and  the  baptized  man  as  a 
subject  and  citizen  thereof.  For,  take  any  part  of  the  Church 
services,  we  will  say,  any  one  of  the  Ten  Commandments. 
The  clergyman  utters  it  to  the  people,  with  the  authority  of  his 
office.  It  is  read  in  their  hearing,  in  a  tongue  understood  by 
them, — read  to  them  as  children  of  God,  as  Christian  men  and 
women.  "What  else  is  this  but  the  proclaiming  and  promulga- 
tion of  a  definite  portion  of  the  law  of  Christ  to  the  conscience, 
the  reason,  the  heart  of  each  person  there  present,  as  bounden 
upon  him  personally  and  individually  ?  And,  if  then,  M'ith  a 
living  faith,  he  applies  it  to  himself, — acknowledges,  confesses. 


REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM.  247 

accepts  it  by  faith, — what  a  great  work  he  does  that  moment 
for  himself;  what  a  great  problem  he  solves  in  one  sentence  for 
himself  personally !  For  then,  when  the  man  responds  with 
faith,  the  Law  concurs  and  coexists  with  his  faith, — the  Al- 
mighty power  of  pardoning  grace,  with  his  free  will, — the  minis- 
terial authority  of  the  ambassador  of  Christ,  with  the  personal 
faith  of  the  Christian  man.  All  these  elements,  which,  as  dis- 
cussed by  Calvinists  and  Lutherans  on  the  one  side,  and  Roman 
Catholics  on  the  other,  on  the  grounds  of  mere  argumentation 
and  intellect,  seem  so  antagonistic,  so  clashing,  so  unreconcila- 
ble,  are  brought  together  and  reconciled  by  the  act  of  personal 
faith  in  the  liturgical  response  of  the  Christian  in  Church, 
"  Lord,  have  mercy  upon  us,  and  incline  our  hearts  to  keep  this 
law."  How  many  deep  questions  does  this  response  solve  for 
the  Christian  soul,  in  one  breath,  when  uttered  in  the  Church 
of  God  in  heartfelt  faith  ? 

Repeat  that  sacred  attitude  of  a  willing  faith,  freely  bowing 
itself  before  the  Law  of  God,  freely  accepting  it  through  grace 
as  a  rule  of  life, — the  same  rule,  yet  infinitely  varied  in  the  Deca- 
logue, in  the  Psalms,  in  the  Litany, — this  affiance  of  a  willing 
faith,  moved  by  grace,  freely  accepting  and  embracing  God's 
law,— repeat  that  act  of  faith  in  the  secret  heart  and  in  the 
voice,  perhaps  one  hundred  times  in  the  course  of  the  services 
of  one  Lord's  Day,  and  think  how  a  great  work  of  pardon  and 
grace  is  done  for  the  baptized  man. 

Consider,  again,  widely  and  deeply  and  weightily,  the 
influence,  upon  the  life,  of  this  blessed  work  going  on  year  by 
year,  for  a  whole  lifetime,  from  childhood  to  old  age,  and  the 
reason  can  be  plainly  seen  why  the  Church  of  God  has  always 
had  liturgical  services, — why  men  no  sooner  abandon  the 
Church  than  they  abandon  them. 

How  much,  then,  it  is  the  duty  of  our  laity  to  assume,  as 
Christian  men  and  women,  a  true  attitude  of  faith  toward  all 
the  services  of  the  Church,  toward  all  the  means  of  grace ;  to 
set  their  minds  with  firm  attention,  to  lay  hold  day  by  day, 
with  a  hving  faith,  upon  every  means  by  which  they  are  sur- 


248  REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM. 

rounded,  from  every  point  to  receive  the  electric  power  of  the 
Spirit ;  and  then  habitually  to  think,  "  not  of  myself,  not  of  my 
own  power  and  deserving,  but  because  I  am  a  child  of  God  on 
this  earth,  in  the  kingdom  of  God,  and  under  His  Law,  a  per- 
petual freedom,  a  daily  and  hourly  forgiveness  and  absolution 
are  extended  to  me  by  our  present  King,  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ, 
on  the  one  condition  of  maintaining  a  living  and  habitual 
faith. 

The  discussion  of  this  subject  would  be  inadequate  if 
we  did  not  bring  into  consideration,  along  with  this,  another 
branch  of  the  kingship  of  our  Lord,  which  we  now  proceed 
to  examine. 

Every  man  that  has  in  the  slightest  degree  thought  upon 
his  own  nature,  has  felt  within  himself  that  inward  power  of 
voluntary  action  which  we  call  free-will.  He  has  felt,  also, 
externally,  a  limitation  upon  this  power  from  the  pressure  of 
external  circumstances.  Now,  when  we  come  to  consider,  in 
modern  times,  the  excuses  that  men  ruined  and  engulfed  in 
sin  make  for  themselves,  it  is  this  matter  of  circumstance  that 
is  constantly  alleged, — temptations  that  stood  around  them, 
hemmed  them  in  on  every  side,  overpowered  them  by  their 
seducing  and  captivating  influence.  And,  again,  when  we 
look  to  actual  life,  we  see  no  small  reason  for  such  an 
opinion  in  the  actual  existence,  before  our  eyes,  of  persons 
whose  reason  and  sense  of  self-interest,  and  strong,  natural 
common-sense,  have  been  overpowered  by  temptation.  And 
this  common  fact  of  human  life  is  put  forth  in  eloquent  novels, 
in  glowing  poems,  as  an  excuse,  almost  a  justification,  for  vicious 
self-indulgence.  Nay,  so  important  is  this  fact  of  the  strife 
between  free-will  and  circumstance,  that  the  greatest  genius 
of  the  last  century,  Leibnitz,  seeing  that  it  was  absolutely 
necessary  that  it  should  be  taken  into  account,  framed  upon 
this,  his  philosophic  theory  of  Optimism.  Of  this  philosophy 
the  fundamental  principle  is  that  everything  is  for  the  best, — a 
theory  amply  refuted  by  one  glance  at  the  facts  of  moral  evil, 
of  the  sins  of  men,  and  of  personal  responsibility.     And  yet  it 


REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISE!.  249 

has  within  itself  the  elements  of  a  great  truth.  There  is  a 
Christian  Optimism,  a  sense  in  which  every  circumstance  is  for 
the  best.  It  is  a  living  truth  for  the  regenerate  man,  the  son  of 
God  through  Christ,  in  the  Christian  Church,  when  he  meets  all 
outward  circumstances  with  an  inward  living  faith.  Every- 
thing, then,  for  him,  is  for  the  best.  "  We  know,"  says  the 
Apostle,  "  that  all  things  work  together  for  good  to  them  that 
love  God,  that  are  the  called  according  to  His  will."  * 

"  There  has  no  temptation  taken  you  but  such  as  is  com- 
mon to  man  :  but  God  is  faithful,  who  will  not  suffer  you  to  be 
tempted  above  that  ye  are  able ;  but  will  with  the  temptation 
also  make  a  way  to  escape,  that  ye  may  be  able  to  endure  it."  f 

We  have  seen  that  as  a  King,  Christ  our  Lord  has  in  His 
kingdom  a  real  and  true  Law.  We  have  seen,  also,  that  there 
is  in  that  kingdom  forgiveness  and  pardon  conveyed  by  all  the 
means  of  grace  to  the  faithful  citizen  of  that  city  ;  but  here  is 
a  promise  for  us  still  greater  and  more  glorious,  that  our  King, 
the  God-man,  infinite  in  power,  omniscient  in  knowledge, 
without  limits  or  bounds  to  His  mercy  and  love,  shall  so  rule 
and  sway  the  tides  of  circumstance,  shall  so  control  all  the  events 
that  touch  upon  those  who  are  within  His  Church  (the  called 
according  to  His  will),  that  all  things  shall  work  together  for 
their  good,  upon  the  one  condition,  "  that  they  love  Him." 
He  has  promised,  also,  that  no  temptation  shall  be  irresistible 
to  those  who  strive  earnestly  in  faith,  with  prayer  to  the 
Father  through  Him,  but  that  inward  strength  shall  be  sup- 
plied to  resist  successfully,  or  else  that,  from  without,  by  His 
omnipotence,  a  way  shall  be  made  for  us  to  escape. 

Here,  then,  is  the  completion  to  the  baptized  man  of  his 
position  in  the  kingdom  of  God  in  this  world.  Let  him,  in 
what  climate  soever  he  may  be,  whatsoever  position  he  may  oc- 
cupy, whether  rich  or  poor,  bond  or  free,  strong  in  intellect  and 
education,  or  feeble  in  mind  and  ignorant, — let  him  only  h(we 
a  Iwing  faith,  andyb^  him  Christ  reigns  omnipotent  upon  the 
throne  of  heaven ;  for  him  all  events  that  happen  are  for  the 
*  Romans,  viii.  28.  f  I,  Cor.  x,  13. 


250  REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM. 

l>est  /  for  Mm  no  temptation  is  irresistible ;  but  he  is  travelling 
onward,  among  God's  elect,  through  the  wilderness  of  this 
world,  with  his  ever-present  King  and  Captain  in  the  van, 
leading  him  onward  by  the  way  that  is  for  him  the  l)€st, 
from  Egypt  throxigh  the  vnlderness  toward  the  everlasting 
land. 


CHAPTER  yill. 

The  effects  of  the  Church  and  her  means  upon  man's 
ignorance,  his  insubordination,  and  his  guilt,  have  been  seen  in 
these  last  chapters.  We  come  now  to  the  fourth  consequence  of 
sin, — its  pollution  or  stain,  and  the  influence  upon  this  of  all 
the  means  of  grace. 

"We  do  not  know  why  it  is  that  the  good  has  always  been 
signified  by  hght  and  the  evil  by  darkness;  but  so  it  has  been, 
and  is,  in  the  speech  of  every  nation  in  the  world.  So  it  is  in 
the  unvarying  language  of  the  Old  and  the  New  Testament. 
"  God  is  light,  and  in  Him  is  no  darkness  at  all."  *  The 
wicked  hate  the  "  light,  because  their  deeds  are  evil."  f  "  God 
hath  called  us  out  of  darkness  into  His  marvellous  light." :{: 
"  Ye  are  all  sons  of  the  light  and  sons  of  the  day.  We  are  not 
of  the  night  nor  of  the  darkness."  §  Undoubtedly  this  lan- 
guage, common  to  all  nations,  is  part  of  that  symbolism  by 
which  the  whole  world  and  all  the  objects  that  are  in  it  are 
naturally  typical  to  man  and  intended  to  instruct  him  in  spir- 
itual things. 

Analogous  to  this  is  the  universal  conviction  of  the  pollu- 
tion of  sin.  It  would  seem  as  if  our  brightness  were  soiled, 
our  glory  darkened,  and  we  were  polluted  and  defiled  by  sin, 
so  as  to  be  filthy  and  unclean,  both  before  God  and  in  our  own 
eyes.  We  need  cite  no  more  than  the  prophecy  concerning 
our  Lord's  atonement  in  the  Old  Testament :  "There  shall  be 
a  fountain  open  for  sin  and  uncleanness ; "  and  again,  in  the 
New  Testament,  "  The  blood  of  Jesus  Christ,  His  Son,  cleans- 
eth  us  from  all  sin."      In  truth,  these  are  two  separate  ideas 

*  I.  Jolin,  i.  5.        t  Joliii»  iii-  19.        1 1-  Pet.  ii.  9.        §  I.  Thess.  v.  5. 


252  REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM. 

connected  with  the  fact  of  sin, — the  guilt,  first ;  and  secondly, 
the  pollution,  or  stain.  The  first  declares  that  we  are  obliged 
to  punishment ;  but  this  last  asserts  that  by  every  sin  we  com- 
mit, there  is  a  stain  upon  our  nature,  defiling  it,  and  making 
us  polluted  and  filthy  in  our  own  sight,  and  in  the  sight  of 
God.  And  therefore  the  sacrifice  of  Christ,  the  blood  of 
the  Lamb  of  God,  has  this  effect, — that  not  only  it  remits  the 
guilt,  but  it  cleanses  also  from  the  stain. 

Now,  as  before,  we  do  not  put  aside  or  deny  the  great  value 
of  individual  faith,  but  we  desire  our  readers  to  consider  the 
Church  as  a  real  sphere  of  existence,  in  which  man  is  placed 
by  his  baptism ;  and  we  wish  the  objective  influence  of  the 
means  of  grace  in  this  direction  to  be  well  weighed  and  con- 
sidered. 

And  first,  we  would  suggest  to  our  readers  to  take  into 
account  the  profound  difference  that  there  is  between  our 
theory  of  regeneration  and  those  of  others.  We  consider  one 
part  of  regeneration  to  be  the  inplanting  of  an  organic  life — 
the  life  of  Christ — witliin  us.  This  implies  that,  within  us, 
and  yet  not  of  us,  there  is  an  internal  pui-ifying  and  cleansing 
principle  and  power  upon  which,  as  a  most  precious  gift  of 
grace,  we  may  rely ;  that  it  will  grow  in  us  if  we  impede  it 
not,  more  and  more,  until,  at  the  resurrection,  it  arise  in  us 
perfect  and  complete,  raising  us  from  the  dead.  This  is  the 
spiritual  life  of  our  Lord,  the  glorified  and  perfected  God-man. 
And  in  this  world,  this  life  is  in  us  from  the  moment  of  our 
new  birth,  growing  and  increasing,  and  therefore  sanctifying 
and  purifying  us  from  the  stain  of  original  sin.  It  is  fed  and 
nourished  in  our  being  by  all  the  means  of  grace ;  and  it 
decays  and  is  enfeebled  in  the  regenerate  man  only  by  wilful 
sin.  "  And  we  have,"  says  the  Apostle,  "  this  treasure  in 
earthen  vessels,  that  the  excellency  of  the  power  may  be  of 
God,  and  not  of  us.  We  are  perplexed  on  every  side,  yet  not 
crushed ;  persecuted,  yet  not  abandoned  to  despair,  .  .  .  Al- 
ways bearing  about  in  the  body  the  dying  of  the  Lord  Jesus, 
that  the  life  also  of  Jesus  might  be  made  manifest  in  our 


REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM.  253 

body.  For  we  which  live  are  alway  delivered  unto  death  for 
Jesus'  sake,  that  the  life  also  of  Jesus  might  be  made  manifest 
in  our  mortal  flesh,"  *  Again,  it  is  said,  "  Christ,  who  is  our 
life^'' ',\  and  ^'^  Our  life  is  hid  with  Christ  in  Godj^^X  ^^^^ 
"  He  that  hath  the  Son  hath  life.''''  § 

How  much  superior  this  conception  of  Christ  as  being 
really  the  life  to  man,  of  the  actual  reception  in  our  regener- 
ation of  an  organic  spiritual  life  received  from  Him  and  abid- 
ing in  us,  is  to  these  shallow  Socinian  ideas  of  regeneration  as 
a  mere  moral  change,  that  are  so  prevalent  in  the  masses.  A 
spiritual  change  of  the  most  real  kind,  tliat  is,  a  true  re]3ent- 
ance  from  past  sins,  on  religious  motives,  and  by  the  super- 
natural and  miraculous  influence  of  the  Spirit,  and  then  a 
true  personal  faith  in  Christ  produced  in  the  same  way,  must 
result  in  a  moral  change  of  the  most  eftectual  kind.  But  even 
such  a  spiritual  change  is  not  regeneration.  It  brings  not  the 
man  within  the  Church  of  God.  It  plants  not  in  him  the  life 
of  Christ.  It  merely  prepares  the  soil  for  the  seed  which 
comes  from  God,  which  is  the  life  of  Christ  in  us.  And  when 
the  gift  is  given,  then,  within  our  being,  there  is  a  new  princi- 
ple, a  life  above  nature,  a  purifying  vitality,  passing  through 
our  whole  being  with  a  cleansing  and  renovating  power.  It  is 
not  from  ourselves  or  our  nature,  but  it  comes  to  us  from  the 
merits  for  us  of  Christ,  the  God-man  glorified  upon  the  throne 
of  heaven. 

What  have  I,  then,  as  a  son  of  God,  to  depend  upon,  in  this 
world,  for  my  purification  from  the  stain  of  sin  ?  Is  it  my  own 
faith,  or  my  own  works,  or  my  own  emotions  ?  Ko.  Primarily 
it  is  the  fact  that  Christ  has  suflfered  for  me,  has  shed  His 
blood  as  an  atonement  for  my  sin,  and  then  that  this  blood 
has  been  applied  to  me,  and  I  have  been  born  of  God,  "  I 
bear  in  my  body  the  dying  (the  effect  of  the  death)  of  the 
Lord  Jesus,  that  His  life  also  should  be  manifested  in  me."  || 
The  fundamental  and  primary  principle,  therefore,  of  spiritual 

*  II.  Cor.  iv.  7-11.  t  Coll.  iii.  4.  t  <^ol^-  "i-  3 

§  I.  John,  V.  13.  i  II.  Cor.  iv.  10. 


254  REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM. 

sanctification  and  purification  is  to  me  the  death  and  the  hfe 
of  Christ.  Faith  is  secondary,  although  all-important.  It  ap- 
prehends and  confesses,  and  is  assured  of  the  fact  of  our  Lord's 
merits.  It  seeks  nourishment  and  support  for  that  sacred  prin- 
ciple of  supernatural  life.  It  brings  forth  in  man  the  fruit  of 
good  works.  And  yet  we  are  but  branches  in  the  vine.  Our  life 
is  not  our  own,  but  is  from  the  root  in  which  we  are  grafted. 
This  life  of  Christ,  then,  is  to  the  Christian  the  primary  foun- 
tain and  source  of  all  Christian  purity  and  holiness, — of  our  per- 
petual dying  unto  sin  and  living  to  righteousness.  And  faith, 
although  it  be  the  living  hand  by  which  he  lays  hold  of  all  the 
means  of  grace,  is  but  a  secondary  and  instrumental  cause. 

But,  in  addition  to  this  primary  cause  of  purification  in  the 
regenerate  man,  there  is  another.  In  the  ordinary  indefinite 
Christianity  of  the  day,  the  Spirit  is  taken  to  be  the  influence 
of  the  Gospel  upon  man,  just  as  we  use  the  phrase  "  the  spirit 
of  Shakespeare,"  or  "  the  spirit  of  the  age."  But  in  reference 
to  that  which  is  more  orthodox,  the  truth  is  very  distinctly 
held  that  the  Spirit  is  the  third  person  of  the  Holy  Trinity,  a 
personal  being  and  very  God,  the  Spirit  of  Christ  in  deed  and 
fact,  by  whose  means  the  truths  of  religion  are  brought  close 
and  applied  to  the  soul. 

And  yet  we  find  among  those  who  hold  the  truth  in  regard 
to  the  Holy  Spirit  a  very  great  short-coming  and  deficiency  in 
their  views.  They  look  upon  the  Holy  Spirit  as  something 
external  and  occasional,  an  influence  which  comes  wholly  from 
without.  Now,  in  reference  to  the  Scripture  doctrine  of  the 
Spirit  and  His  relation  to  the  regenerate  man,  this  is  a  sadly 
weak  and  deficient  view.  The  Scripture  doctrine  takes  it,  that 
the  baptized  man  is  not  merely  externally  admitted  into  the 
sacred  enclosure  of  the  Church  of  God  by  the  Holy  Spirit,  but 
also  that  by  the  fact  of  his  being  the  son  of  God,  the  Christian 
has  an  inner  gift,  of  the  indwelling  in  his  humanity  of  that 
Spirit,  "  by  which  all  the  building  fitly  framed  together  grow- 
eth  unto  an  holy  temple  unto  the  Lord."  *    And  this  so  actual 

*Eph.ii.21. 


REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM.  255 

and  real  that  impurity  of  the  body  is  a  sin,  just  as  the  defile- 
ment of  a  temple  is  a  sin.  "  What  ?  know  ye  not  that  your 
body  is  the  temple  of  the  Holy  Ghost  which  is  in  you,  which 
ye  have  of  God,  and  ye  are  not  your  own  ?  For  ye  are  bought 
with  a  price  :  therefore  glorify  God  in  your  body,  and  in  your 
spirit,  which  are  God's."  *  "  The  Spirit  of  truth  dwelleth  with 
you,  and  shall  be  in  you,"  f  saith  our  Lord  himself.  "  The 
Holy  Spirit  dwelleth  in  us."  X 

There  is  no  doctrine  in  the  Holy  Scripture  more  certain 
than  these  two  concerning  the  Spirit :  first,  that  He  comes  to 
all  men  in  this  world  in  various  ways  and  by  various  means  of 
access,  calling  upon  them  to  repent  from  sin  and  to  turn  to  the 
right  path.  And  as  no  man  in  this  world  was  ever  so  hidden 
that  the  universal,  permeating,  circumambient  air  could  not 
reach  him  ;  so  no  human  being  was  ever  so  plunged  in  the 
depths  of  destitution,  or  viciousness,  or  ignorance,  or  pagan- 
ism, but  that  the  Spirit  of  God  could  reach  him  and  did  reach 
him, — if  we  only  could  see  as  the  Almighty  Father  sees,  from 
whom  "  are  His  goings  forth  unto  the  sons  of  men."  And 
this  we  call  "prevenient"  grace, — the  grace  of  the  Holy  Spirit 
that  "goes  before"  all  acts  of  goodness  in  man,  and  calls  all 
men  to  God. 

And,  secondly,  to  the  regenerate  man  there  is  not  merely  an 
outward  calling  at  times,  occasionally,  of  the  Spirit,  but  an  in- 
ward and  constant  indwelling,  whereby  the  personal  Spirit  of 
God  abides  and  dwells  within  him, — in  his  humanity  as  in  a 
temple, — the  Spirit  of  Grace  and  Glory  feeding  with  his  in- 
fluence, as  with  consecrated  oil,  the  sacred  flame  of  the  life  of 
Christ  that  is  implanted  and  lives  within  us. 

To  this  inward  cause,  also,  of  sanctiflcation  and  purification 
the  Christian  man  is  to  look ;  he  is  to  consider  all  external 
means  to  be  means  only,  used  and  employed  by  the  Spirit  to 
give  life  and  grace,  and  his  own  personal  faith  to  be  merely 
the  hand  by  which  he  receives  the  gifts.  His  most  inward  and 
heartfelt  appreciation  of  the  truths  he  must  consider  to  be  only 

*  I.  Cor.  vi.  19,  20.  f  St.  John,  xiv.  17.  %  II-  Tim.  i.  14. 


256  REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM. 

the  quickening  of  the  grace  that  is  in  him  from  the  indwelling 
of  the  Divine  Spirit.  AVith  these  provisos  as  to  the  sources, 
the  twofold  efficient  and  primary  causes  of  Christian  purity  in 
the  regenerate  man  in  Christ  our  Lord  and  His  Spirit,  we  come 
to  consider  the  secondary  and  instrumental  causes  that  exist 
and  are  employed  in  the  Church  of  God. 

Now,  if  we  look  at  human  nature  itself  in  the  light  of  our 
own  experience  and  of  Holy  Writ,  we  find  two  things  most 
clear:  first,  the  fact  of  this  pollution,  and,  secondly,  its  posi- 
tion.    It  exists  as  a  fact, — and  in  the  heart  of  man. 

Let  us  see  what  this  implies.  This,  first,  that  in  the  nature 
of  man  there  is  an  innermost  portion, — the  heart,  a  secret  and 
retired  chamber,  as  it  were,  impenetrable  by  his  fellows,  indis- 
cernible save  by  the  eye  of  the  omniscient  God.  And  therein 
the  man  personally  dwells  alone,  with  his  thoughts,  his  inten- 
tions, his  desires, — knowing  what  in  truth  and  reality  all  these 
are  himself,  unknown  by  his  fellow-men,  and  only  now  and 
then,  by  a  word  or  an  action  occasionally,  indicating  the  char- 
acter and  significance  of  that  hidden  depth. 

Secondly,  that  secret  shrine  is  the  chosen  abode  of  the  affec- 
tions, that  highest  and  tenderest  part  of  our  nature,  by  which 
we  are  bound  to  our  fellows  in  society. 

And  thirdly,  that  there— in  the  secret  heart— most  easily  are 
these  perverted  into  base  and  evil  appetites,  vile  passions,  rag- 
ing and  burning  lusts,  making  that  which  should  be  an  inner 
temple  and  presence-chamber  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  to  be  a 
sweltering  and  sunless  den  of  savage  beasts, — a  home  upon 
earth  for  all  the  foul  spirits  of  the  abyss  to  enter  in  and  dwell 
there. 

There,  as  all  men  know,  in  the  heart,  is  the  origin  and  source 
of  all  the  pollution  of  man  by  sin.  There,  the  natural  tendency 
of  man  toward  sin  meets  with  the  secret  suggestions  of  Satan  and 
his  hosts.  There,  in  the  darkness  of  the  heart,  the  evil  com- 
mences, and  thence  it  issues  forth  full-grown,  "  Out  of  the  heart," 
says  our  Lord  himself,  "  proceed  evil  thoughts,  murders,  adul- 
teries, fornications,  thefts,  false  witnesses,  blasphemies.     These 


REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM.  25Y 

are  tlie  things  that  defile  a  man."  *  And  these  facts,  so  plainly 
asserted  in  Holy  Writ,  are  just  as  plainly  understood  to  be  true 
by  the  experience  of  every  thoughtful  man  who  has  any  knowl- 
edge of  human  nature  and  of  the  world. 

See,  then,  in  reference  to  these  facts,  the  weighty  signifi- 
cance of  the  doctrine  of  regeneration,  the  immense  value  of 
our  doctrine  of  an  implanted  inner  life  of  Christ,  with  an  in- 
dwelling, sanctifying  power  of  the  Holy  Spirit  of  God ;  and 
again,  of  a  holy  Church,  a  real  kingdom  of  Christ  upon  earth, 
filled  with  all  the  means  of  grace,  of  pardon  for  sins,  of  sancti- 
fication  and  justification.  Taking  these  facts  of  nature  and  of 
the  Gospel  to  be  true,  let  us  see  how  the  means  of  grace  with- 
in the  Church  tend  to  purify  the  man  and  to  cleanse  away  the 
pollution  of  sin  from  his  secret  soul.  Let  us  look,  first,  at  the 
effect  upon  the  heart  of  the  whole  Gospel  of  Christ,  read  pub- 
licly in  the  church  from  year  to  year.  The  clergyman  is  there, 
in  the  church,  reading  with  authority ;  the  people  are  there, 
that  they  may  receive  the  teaching  of  our  Lord  with  submissive 
faith.  Does  any  man,  we  would  ask,  upon  this  earth  sufficiently 
comprehend,  in  its  width  of  meaning,  its  depth  and  surpass- 
ing fulness,  that  saying  of  Christ  to  His  disciples :  "  Now  are 
ye  clean  through  the  Word  that  I  have  sjpoken  unto  you  "  ?  f 
Does  any  one  fully  comprehend  what  a  cleansing,  purifying, 
sanctifying  influence  the  words  must  have  upon  man,  which 
the  Eternal  Word  of  the  Father  spoke,  during  Llis  abidance  here 
upon  the  earth,  with  the  tongue  and  voice  of  a  sinless  humanity, 
to  His  believing  disciples  ?  Look  through  the  whole  of  the 
ISTew  Testament,  and  this  phrase,  "  the  word  of  God,"  has 
there  two  senses ;  the  first,  the  personal  sense  in  which  Christ 
is  the  Eternal  Word  of  the  Father,  and  the  second,  of  the 
message  in  its  widest  import  which  that  Word,  becoming  incar- 
nate, spake  to  man,  in  the  speech  of  man. 

This  sacred  word  we  have  in  the  Scriptures,  read  by  His 
ambassadors  publicly  before  the  people,  with  authority,  received 
by  them  with  submission  and  faith.     Of  course,  in  examining 
*  St.  Matt.  XV.  19-20.  t  St.  John,  xv.  3. 

17 


258  REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM. 

this  Word  as  read  in  the  church,  we  leave  out  of  our  consider- 
ation the  Roman  Catholics,  as  it  is  manifest  that  their  use  of 
the  Latin  language  exclusively  in  their  services  hides  away  from 
their  laity  all  liturgical  instruction.  And,  so  far,  there  is  with 
them  a  very  great  loss  of  the  purifying  influence  of  the  "Word 
of  God.  We  need  not  speak  of  dissent  in  any  way,  for  there 
is  no  doubt  that  until  of  late  there  was,  even  among  the  most 
zealous  dissenters,  a  most  ruinous  neglect  of  the  public  reading 
of  Holy  Writ.  One  example  will  suflice :  "  In  all  the 
(Presbyterian)  meetings  of  the  north  of  Ireland,"  says  Arch- 
bishop King  (1650-1729),  "in  a  whole  year,  perhaps  there  is 
not  as  much  Scripture  read  as  in  one  day  in  our  Church,  by  the 
strictest  inquiry  which  I  could  make."  * 

]^ow  let  the  baptized  man,  with  these  thoughts  in  his  mind, 
take  the  Services  of  the  Church.  Let  him  go  over  them, 
through  the  whole  Christian  year,  from  Advent  throughout. 
Let  him  think  how  frequently,  how  impressively,  how  solemnly 
the  teaching  of  our  Lord  himself,  in  His  own  words,  is  urged 
upon  the  faithful  in  the  second  lessons  of  the  morning  and 
evening  throughout  the  whole  year,  and  in  the  appointed  Gos- 
pels of  every  Sunday  and  holy  day.  Let  him  then  take  the 
lessons  read  from  the  Acts,  and  those  from  the  Epistles,  as 
many  in  number,  and  the  Epistles  in  the  Communion  Service, 
and  think  that  these  last  are  really  and  truly  the  commentaries 
upon  our  Lord's  words  of  inspired  men.  His  own  apostles,  and 
the  application  by  the  Holy  Spirit,  of  the  Word  of  our  Lord 
Jesus  Christ,  to  all  circumstances  of  life.  Let  him  take  into 
account,  then,  the  millions  that  hear,  and  estimate,  if  he  can, 
the  effect  of  this  definite  and  distinct  teaching  in  purifying 
and  cleansing  the  hearts  of  believers.  Then  shall  he  have 
some  faint,  imperfect  sense  of  the  purport  of  the  words  of  our 
Lord,  "Now  are  ye  clean  through  the  Word  that  I  have 
spoken  unto  you."  f 

Of  course  we,  as  Churchmen,  do  not  deny   tiie  right  of 

*  King  on  the  Inventions  of  Man  in  tlie  Worship  of  God. 
f  St.  John,  XV.  3. 


I 


REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM.  269 

eacli  private  Christian  to  read  for  himself  the  Holy  Scriptures. 
It  is  a  duty  plainly  asserted  in  our  second  Collect  for  Advent, 
publicly  before  the  congregation.  It  is  a  franchise  of  each 
baptized  man  to  read  the  Scriptures  in  his  own  language,  as  dis- 
tinctly held  in  the  primitive  Church  as  in  ours,  and,  as  we 
believe,  most  plainly  asserted  in  Holy  Writ  as  a  privilege,  and 
enjoined  as  a  duty.  All  this  is  true.  Still,  the  public  reading 
in  the  ears  of  the  people,  with  authority,  by  the  commissioned 
ambassador  of  Christ,  and  the  submissive  reception  from  his 
mouth  of  the  Word  of  God  into  the  secret  heart  by  faith,  is  a 
matter  of  distinct  and  preeminent  importance.  The  private 
man,  in  his  private  perusal  of  Holy  Writ,  may  place  himself 
in  an  attitude  he  cannot  take  in  reference  to  the  same  Script- 
ures, when  they  are  read  with  authority  in  the  church.  He 
may  neglect  its  perusal,  he  may  treat  it  as  a  common  book ; 
but  in  the  church,  if  he  be  there,  he  must  hear  it  read,  he 
must  consider  it  as  no  ordinary  book ;  and  we  suspect  that 
where  the  Scripture  has  not  been  read  in  public  worship  sys- 
tematically and  abundantly  before  the  people,  on  any  pretence 
whatsoever,  it  is  because  the  tenor  of  the  New  Testament, 
taken  as  a  whole,  day  by  day  the  entire  year  through,  reproves 
and  condemns  the  scheme  of  doctrine  held.  Therefore  they 
do  not  read  it. 

Now,  considering  our  Lord  as  the  one  spotless  and  sinless 
man  upon  the  eartli, — considering  ourselves,  also,  as  the  sons  of 
God  in  this  world,  and  yet  liable  to  temptation  and  to  sin, — we 
have,  through  the  whole  of  the  New  Testament,  in  our  Lord's 
Word .  and  in  His  life,  for  all  actions  in  the  present  life,  the 
most  perfect  rules  of  purity. 

See  how  the  nature  of  God's  Law  is  laid  before  us  con- 
stantly, and  our  obligation  to  obedience.  Consider  how  man's 
being  is  so  unfolded  and  laid  open  by  it,  in  its  widest  extent 
and  its  most  subtle  depths,  before  the  eyes  of  all  men, — that 
deep  mysteries  unknown  to  the  men  of  genius,  the  sages 
of  the  Old  World  before  our  Lord's  advent,  are  now  uttered 
and  understood  by  children.     Behold  how  the  nature  of  God  is 


260  REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM. 

declared  most  distiiictlj  in  plain  words ;  that  problem  so  difficult 
to  the  human  race  antecedent  to  revelation.  See  the  great  truth 
revealed  of  the  incarnation  of  the  Eternal  Word,  and  all  the 
manifold  consequences  to  the  morality  of  man  that  flow  from 
it.  See  the  doctrines  of  the  atonement  and  sacrifice  for  sin  by 
Christ  our  Lord;  of  the  mediatorial  reign  of  Christ  before 
the  throne  as  Prophet,  Priest,  and  King ;  of  the  grace 
and  influences  of  the  Holy  Spirit ;  of  the  existence  of  a 
Church  upon  earth  and  its  ministry ;  of  the  nature  and  in- 
fluences of  the  Sacraments ;  of  the  ministry  of  angels  to 
us  who  are  the  heirs  of  salvation ;  of  the  communion  of 
saints ;  of  Paradise  and  the  future  judgment ;  of  heaven  and 
hell.  All  these  truths  are  read  in  our  hearing  constantly  ;  all 
these  lie  upon  the  face  of  Holy  Writ  in  the  pages  of  one  small 
book,  the  New  Testament.  There  is  not  a  doctrine  of  all  these 
that  does  not  come  in  the  closest  and  most  practical  contact 
with  the  soul  of  the  baptized  man  when  read  and  heard  and 
received  by  faith ;  not  a  doctrine  of  all  these  that  does  not 
give  moral  knowledge,  supply  motives  to  righteous  action, 
regulate,  control,  purify,  and  cleanse  the  inner  heart  of  man. 
Nay,  not  a  line  is  there  of  Holy  Writ,  as  coinj^leted  hy  our 
Lo7'd,  not  a  sentence,  but  may  be  to  the  man  a  sacred  fountain 
of  life,  a  fundamental  principle  of  action  passing  through 
his  whole  being,  as  a  living  stream  of  purity  of  motive  and  sanc- 
tity of  life.  What,  then,  is  the  whole  of  revelation,  tlie  Word 
of  the  God-man,  and  the  inspired  comments  of  His  disciples 
upon  it,  heard  in  the  church,  and  received  in  faith  through  the 
whole  course  of  the  life  of  a  Christian, — what  is  all  this  but  a 
new  world  of  light  and  life  and  purity,  of  cleansing  waters 
and  bright  sunlight  and  breezes  from  heaven,  embracing  and 
enfolding  the  man,  admitting  him,  as  it  were,  by  the  key  of  a 
sanctified  knowledge,  into  a  new  heaven  and  a  new  earth? 
What  is  it  for  the  baptized  man,  considered  as  a  reasonable 
being,  capable  of  moral  action,  but  a  perfect  philosophy  of  life 
and  action,  a  new  and  complete  moral  and  ethical  science  for 
the  whole  human  race,  of  which  the  author  is  the  Only  Be- 


REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM.  261 

gotten  Son  from  the  bosom  of  the  Father ;  man,  born  of  a 
woman,  npon  this  earth,  for  us  ?  And  the  school  of  this  teaching 
is  every  church,  over  the  whole  world,  wherein  the  Scriptures 
are  read  in  the  ears  of  the  people  in  their  mother  tongue ; 
the  teacher  is  the  Holy  Spirit,  and  the  power  that  is  taught, 
and  learns,  is  the  living  faith  of  the  regenerated  man. 

Our  readers  who  are  not  within  the  Church  (for  such  we 
may  possibly  have)  may  think  this  to  be  exaggeration.  Yet, 
let  them  take  the  Christian  doctrine  of  chastity  as  now  pro- 
fessed in  all  civilized  nations, — let  them  contrast  it  with  the 
heathen  estimate  of  the  sex,  and  the  coldest  historians  that  have 
historical  insight  and  impartiality  can  attest  that  it  sprang 
from  the  Christian  doctrine  of  the  incarnation,  and  that  Article 
of  the  Christian  creed,  "  conceived  by  the  Holy  Ghost,  born 
of  the  Virgin  Mary."  There  were,  undoubtedly,  in  middle-age 
Europe,  exaggerations,  and  very  unchristian  exaggerations,  of 
the  formative  principle  of  chastity,  in  an  idolatrous  reverence 
for  the  Blessed  Virgin ;  but  still  the  result  is  what  we  have 
stated.  The  one  fact  that  God  our  Saviour  was  born  of  the 
Virgin,  in  its  intellectual  and  moral  action  upon  the  human 
mind,  continuously,  throughout  the  ages  of  Christian  history, 
has  lifted  woman  up  from  her  debased  and  degraded  position, 
and  placed  her  on  the  same  level  with  man. 

Again,  take  the  Christian  doctrine  of  marriage  and  divorce ; 
and  this,  as  distinguished  from  the  old  pagan  doctrine  of  mar- 
riage, shall  be  seen  to  be  a  source  and  origin  of  moral  purity. 
And  so  might  we  go  over  the  whole  of  the  New  Testament. 
We  might  take  any  or  every  doctrine  that  lies  upon  its  pages, 
and  manifest,  from  the  course  of  history  in  the  world,  its  sanc- 
tifying influences  upon  man,  in  the  family  and  the  na- 
tion, as  husband  or  wife,  as  father  or  mother,  as  son  or 
daughter,  as  brother  or  sister.  We  might  show,  in  truth,  that 
civilization,  in  the  real  sense — including  not  only  progress  in 
intellect,  and  the  increase  of  the  conveniences  and  comforts  of 
life,  but  in  morals,  the  acknowledgment  and  acceptance  of 
righteous  principles  of  action — comes  from  the  fact  that  the 


262  REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM. 

words  of  our  Lord,  the  seed-grain  of  all  morality,  have  been 
for  ages  flung  broadcast  upon  human  life,  and  been  adopted  as 
principles  of  public  opinion,  of  municipal  law,  and  of  state  and 
national  action,  even  by  unbelievers. 

But  to  return  from  these  more  general  illustrations  to  the 
particular  facts  as  concerns  the  Christian  man  admitted  into  the 
Church  of  Christ  by  holy  baptism.  He  is  regenerated.  There- 
fore in  him  is  the  purifying  and  sanctifying  life  of  Christ 
implanted.  In  him  the  Holy  Spirit  dwells  as  in  a  temple,  aid- 
ing his  spirit  with  the  merits  of  the  sacrifice  and  atonement 
of  Christ, — "  to  purify  itself  even  as  He  is  pure."  And  he  is 
within  the  Church  of  God  upon  earth,  wherein  all  means  and 
influences  that  meet  him  are  means  of  sanctifying  grace, — the 
sacraments  of  the  Church,  the  work  of  her  ministry,  her  wor- 
ship, her  doctrines,  her  principles.  And  lastly,  and  above  all, 
the  words  of  his  Lord,  the  teaching  of  the  one  sinless  man 
upon  the  earth,  is  perpetually  impressed  upon  his  soul,  and  the 
life  of  that  one  man  is  perpetually  held  up  as  his  example. 
Cannot  the  Christian  man  see  that  all  these  influences  around 
him,  in  the  Church,  tend  to  cleanse  away  from  him  the  defile- 
ment and  pollution  of  sin,  if  he  only  employ  and  use  them 
with  a  constant  faith,  if  he  only  receive  them  into  his  heart. 
"  Beloved,  now  are  we  the  sons  of  God,  and  it  doth  not  yet 
appear  what  we  shall  be  :  but  we  know  that,  when  He  shall 
appear,  we  shall  be  like  Him  ;  for  M^e  shall  see  Him  as  He  is. 
And  every  man  that  hath  this  hoj)e  in  Him  jpurijieth  himself^ 
even  as  He  is  jpureP^ 

*  I.  John,  iii.  3.  3. 


CHAPTER  IX. 

As  a  matter  of  fact,  we  see  tlie  misery  and  wretcliedness  of 
the  human  race  upon  the  eartli.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  also,  we 
see  original  sin  as  a  flaw  existing  in  every  human  being,  and 
the  existence,  furthermore,  of  a  law  which  reveals  to  man  the 
moral  perfection  of  which  his  nature  is  capable,  and  condemns 
him  also.  By  himself,  therefore,  of  his  own  powers  unaided, 
man  cannot  obey  the  law,  is  condemned  by  the  law,  is  guilty 
before  God.  From  these  premises,  then,  taking  iheyn  alone  to 
exist,  the  Calvinist  brings  forth  his  hateful  doctrine  of  Predes- 
tination and  Reprobation, — doctrines  that  depend  upon  bad  phi- 
losophy and  worse  Greek,  for  no  such  word  is  there  in  the 
original  of  the  N^ew  Testament  as  predestination  in  the  sense 
of  absolute  decrees,  doom,  destiny,  or  fate, — the  word  mean- 
ing, simply,  to  predispose,  prearrange,  or  preordain. 

What,  then,  is  man's  state  by  nature  ?  Of  himself,  of  his 
own  powers,  of  unaided  nature,  he  cannot  please  God.  The 
law  is  around  him,  it  condemns  him,  it  makes  him  guilty  before 
God,  it  manifests  to  him  his  sin  and  his  pollution. 

But  is  he  the  only  being  in  existence  ?  Is  there  for  him 
nothing  outside  himself  save  God  ?  Has  God  left  man  to  dwell 
solitary  and  alone  with  his  guilt,  his  pollution,  his  remorse, — 
in  abject  terror,  in  remediless  despair  ?  The  answer  is,  Ko ! 
For,  external  to  man,  there  is  a  world  of  material  things, — 
the  wide  earth  his  dwelling-place,  with  all  its  influences  of 
storm  and  sunshine,  of  day  and  night,  of  land  and  sea ;  food 
upon  it  for  him,  and  hunger  also;  toil  and  rest,  sleep  and 
waking, — a  manifold  world  of  influences  that  bear  unceasingly 
upon  him. 


264  REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM. 

Then,  furthermore,  as  he  is  a  person,  so  is  this  world  crowded 
with  persons  like  himself.  And  from  tliem  thousandfold  per- 
sonal influences  come — moral,  intellectual,  mental — all  acting 
upon  him,  and  he  in  return  acting  upon  them  in  the  same  per- 
sonal way.  What  does  all  this  outward  world,  material  and 
personal,  mean  ?  What  is  its  operation  and  influence  upon  the 
man  ?  And  again,  what  interpretation  shall  we  give  to  it  in  con- 
nection with  original  sin  and  man's  condemnation  by  the  law? 

But  one  interpretation,  say  those  men  whose  theory  is 
that  of  the  decrees :  God  having  decreed,  before  all  ages,  the 
predestined  salvation  of  some  persons  out  of  the  mass,  irrespect- 
ive of  their  own  works, — and  possibly  having  decreed  the  dam- 
nation of  all  the  others  in  like  manner, — decreeing  the  end,  he 
therefore  decrees  all  the  means.* 

The  meaning,  then,  of  the  external  world,  and  its  influences 
upon  man,  is,  that  it  is  a  system  of  machinery  for  bringing  about 
God's  decrees  of  predestination  and  reprobation.  This,  and 
none  other,  is  its  effect.  If  I  am  reprobated,  the  Almighty  so 
arranges  it  by  His  decrees,  that  all  temptations  shall  be  presented 
to  me  externally, — that  I  shall  be  importuned  by  them  and  led 
into  sin  sufficiently  to  bring  about  that  result, — and  so  forms 
me  internally,  so  weakens  the  power  of  resistance,  that  I  shall 
yield  to  these.  He  gives  me  no  grace  to  resist,  or  only  grace 
enough  to  condemn  me ;  light  only  sufiicient  for  me  to  reject  it. 
This  theory  is  most  hateful,  this  interpretation  of  the  moral 
uses  of  the  world  is  an  outrage  upon  man's  intellect  and  moral 
sense,— an  insult  to  the  Father  Almighty.  We  cheerfully  admit 
that  the  mass  of  religious  men  at  this  time,  who  call  themselves 
Calvinists,  do  not  hold  it.  And  yet  it  is  the  very  theory  of 
Calvin  himself,  as  may  be  seen  in  his  own  words.f 

Kow,  admitting  man's  sinfulness,  and  man's  condemnation 
by  the  law,  and  his  inability  to  save  himself,  what  interpreta- 

*  See  Dr.  Chalmers'  Sermon  on  Predestination. 

f  See  Faber,  on  the  Doctrine  of  Election,  pp.  45-47,  for  a  series  of  ex- 
tracts to  this  eflfect  from  Calvin's  "  Institutions."  We  have  verified  these 
quotations  in  the  edition  of  the  "  Institutions,"  by  Tholuck. 


REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM.  265 

tion  shall  we,  who  are  not  Calvinists,  give  to  this  external  world, 
— what  work  shall  we  say  that  it  actually  does  upon  man  ?  Is 
it  the  carrying  out  of  irresistible  decrees  ?  Or  is  it  the  calling 
forth  in  man  of  the  thought  of  God  and  heaven  and  immor- 
tality ;  the  bringing  forth  for  him,  in  manifold  sparks  and 
rays,  from  the  most  unexpected  regions,  of  that  light  which  in 
the  full  glory  of  revelation  beams  from  the  Cross  of  Christ  ? 
We  answer,  clearly  and  distinctly,  in  the  words  of  Bishop  But- 
ler, in  his  immortal  "  Analogy,"  that  "  this  world  is  a  school  of 
moral  probation  to  man,  from  the  beginning  of  his  life  to  the 
end  of  it."  The  interpretation,  then,  of  this  objective  world 
of  things  and  persons  that  encompasses  man,  is,  that  man,  hav- 
ing fallen  of  his  own  free  will,  and  being  condemned,  God  was 
pleased  not  to  execute  at  once  the  sentence  of  condemnation, 
but,  as  it  were,  to  suspend  it,  and  to  place  man  in  a  state  of 
reprieve.  And  man  was  not  left  alone  with  himself,  his  sin,  and 
his  sorrow ;  but  in  manifold  ways  God  was  pleased  to  send 
upon  him  spiritual  influences,  to  give  him  moral  knowledge,  to 
call  him  to  moral  and  spiritual  action  by  means  of  the  external 
world,  both  physical  and  personal,  and  also  through  it,  by  the 
light  of  the  Word  and  the  grace  of  the  Spirit,  sent  to  and  acting 
upon  all  men. 

There  are  two  states  of  man's  nature  to  be  considered  here— 
the  state  of  nature  before  the  coming  of  our  Lord  upon  the 
earth, — the  state  of  nature  since  that  era.  The  first  we  pass  over 
as  no  longer  in  existence.  We  only  consider  the  state  of  mere 
nature  as  it  now  exists.  What,  then,  is  the  state  of  mere  nature 
now,  in  man, — the  state  of  the  man  unbaptized,  not  born  again 
in  Christ  ?  We  do  not  speak  of  the  man  to  whom  Christ  has 
been  preached  and  who  has  rejected  Him.  Still  less  of  him  who, 
under  the  temptations  of  lust,  or  avarice,  or  ambition,  has  cast 
away  the  profession  of  the  Christian  faith,  that  he  ma}^  get  free, 
if  possible,  from  the  laws  of  Christian  morality  and  the  con- 
demnation and  the  remorse  of  sin.  But  we  speak  of  him  who 
has  not  heard  of  Christ,  who  is,  in  the  state  of  mere  nature,  a 
non-believer,  not  an  infidel  or  an  apostate. 


266  REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM. 

What,  then,  is  to  him  the  external  world  and  its  influences? 
See  joii  not  that  man  in  such  a  state  is  still  a  moral  being,  not 
a  beast  or  a  devil,  but  a  fallen  man  1  In  him  exist  all  the  powers 
and  all  the  faculties  that  man  had  in  Paradise,  although  all  of 
them  are  diseased,  all  of  them  unable  fully  to  accomplish  their 
ends. 

Free-will,  for  example,  exists  in  man  still,  as  a  natural 
power;  he  feels  it;  he  is  certain  of  its  existence  as  a  faculty 
in  his  being;  no  argumentation  can  convince  him  that  he  has 
it  not.  He  acts  upon  his  conviction,  and  takes  it  for  granted. 
And  yet,  of  itself  and  by  itself,  it  gives  the  man  no  help.  By 
it,  unaided,  he  cannot  do  good ;  by  it,  unaided,  he  cannot  even 
desire  good :  for  it  is  diseased  and  disabled  ;  it  is  as  a  limb  that 
is  paralyzed,  a  foot  that  cannot  walk,  a  hand  that  has  no  grasp. 

Again,  in  him  is  natural  benevolence, — the  natural  kind- 
liness of  our  being  toward  our  brother  man,  a  faculty  in  us 
akin  to  the  good- will  and  love  of  the  Almighty  Father  to  our 
race.  This,  too,  is  in  man ;  yet  it  lies  bound  and  in  chains, 
unable  of  itself  to  do  aught  of  good. 

Analyze  all  the  virtues  that  make  man  happy  in  himself,  or 
that  tend  to  the  good  of  his  fellow-men,  in  all  relations  wherein 
they  can  come  in  contact  with  him,  and  you  will  conclude  and 
be  convinced  that  the  roots  and  faculties  of  all  these  exist  in 
man's  nature  and  constitution.  And  yet  all  are  in  the  same 
encumbered  and  enchained,  diseased  and  corrupted  state  and 
position.  Unaided,  they  can  do  nothing;  without  help  and 
assistance,  without  healing,  they  do  not  act. 

Nay,  let  us  look  upward  and  onward  toward  God  and 
heaven  and  immortality.  Has  not  man  in  himself  all  the  fac- 
ulties that  look  toward  these  glories  far  away, — all  the  powers 
that  make  him  capable  of  recognizing  and  seeking  after  them  ? 
Is  not  man,  even  now,  made  in  the  image  of  God, — God-like  ? 
Is  there  not,  even  now,  in  him  a  natural  faculty  of  faith,  by 
which  he  desires  to  worship,  by  which  he  believes  in  the 
Unseen ;  by  which,  in  spite  of  idolatry,  of  ignorance,  of  false 
philosophy,  his  soul  leaps  onward  toward  the  idea  of  a  Father, 


BEGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM.  267 

omniscient,  almighty,  eternal  ?  Has  he  not  a  natural  faculty 
of  hope,  also,  which  overleaps  the  limits  of  time  and  space,  and 
transcending  the  day  and  its  engrossing  toils,  feels  for  itself 
no  ultimate  resting-place,  no  final,  permanent  abode  but  in 
Eternity  ?  Has  he  not,  even  now,  as  we  see  him  in  this  world, 
all  the  powers,  all  the  faculties,  all  the  affections  that  make 
him  capable  of  dwelling  with  God  in  Heaven,  immortally  ? 
Yes,  truly,  all  these  also  here  exist  in  man,  yet  all  in  the  same 
condition, — all  in  themselves  diseased  and  perverted.  He  is 
unable  of  himself,  of  his  own  free-will,  of  all  his  powers — 
the  loftiest  of  the  spiritual  nature  as  well  as  the  lowliest  of  his 
mere  animal  being — to  obey  the  laws  of  God.  Man,  unaided, 
can  do  no  good.  Of  himself,  in  himself,  hy  himself,  he  has 
nothing  but  sin  and  its  consequences, — guilt  and  pollution 
and  shame,  the  sting  of  remorse  and  the  agony  of  self- 
condemnation. 

If  man  were  left  alone,  with  all  his  powers  in  this  state, 
well  might  he  frame  to  himself  such  a  theology  of  presumption 
and  of  despair  as  pure  Calvinism  is ;  for  all  things  within  and 
without  him  w^ould  be  of  no  import  to  him,  save  that  of  being 
means  to  carry  out  his  natural  wretchedness  to  final  misery. 

But  man  is  not  left  alone.  From  the  earliest  time  of 
revelation  down  to  the  latest,  there  is  but  one  interpretation  put 
upon  external  nature,  but  one  significance  assigned  to  it  in 
Holy  Writ, — that  it  witnesses  to  all  men  of  God, — that  it  calls 
forth  in  all  men  the  consciousness  of  their  own  being  and  the 
purposes  for  which  it  was  made,  and  tends  to  awake  in  them  all 
a  desire  to  struggle  onward  toward  God  and  freedom  and  im- 
mortality. Hear  what  the  Psalmist  says :  "  The  heavens 
declare  the  glory  of  God;  and  the  firmament  showeth  His 
handiwork.  One  day  telleth  another,  and  one  night  certifieth 
another.  There  is  neither  speech  nor  language,  but  their  voices 
are  heard  among  them.  Their  sound  is  gone  out  into  all 
lands  and  their  voices  unto  the  ends  of  the  world."  *  Again, 
listen  to  St.  Paul,  declaring  the  purposes  of  God  in  Christ 

*  Psalm,  xix,  1-4. 


268  REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM. 

among  the  heathen  :  "  "We  preach  unto  you  that  ye  should  turn 
from  these  vanities  unto  the  living  God,  which  made  heaven 
and  earth,  the  sea  and  all  things  that  are  therein :  who  in  past 
times  suffered  all  nations  to  walk  in  their  own  ways.  Never- 
theless he  left  not  himself  without  witness,  in  that  he  did 
good,  and  gave  us  rain  from  heaven,  and  fruitful  seasons,  filling 
our  hearts  with  joy  and  gladness."  *  Again,  hear  the  same 
Paul  declaring  that  "  The  invisible  things  of  Him  (that  is,  God) 
from  the  creation  of  the  world  are  clearly  seen,  being  under- 
stood by  the  things  that  are  made,  even  his  eternal  power  and 
Godhead."  f 

And  when,  to  the  material  created  world,  we  add  the 
world  of  man  and  society,  and  its  various  influences,  we 
see  still  more  distinctly,  both  in  our  own  convictions  and  in 
the  assertions  of  Holy  Writ,  that  the  whole  external  world  of 
circumstances  is  used  and  employed  by  God  as  a  system  of  means 
to  call  forth  in  man  the  knowledge  of  his  state,  to  lead  him  on- 
ward toward  a  sense  and  a  natural  knowledge  of  spii-itual  things. 
True  it  is,  that  this  knowledge  is  dim,  it  is  uncertain,  it  is  after 
all  but  an  instinctive  feeling  in  the  dark,  a  vague,  uncertain 
tradition.  Yet  it  is  ordained  by  God  as  a  part  of  the  agency 
of  the  external  world  upon  man,  that  in  a  state  of  mere  nature 
all  men  should  be  turned  by  Him  toward  the  light.  And  this, 
again,  has  the  same  apostle  asserted  to  the  cultivated  and  subtle 
philosopliers  of  Athens  upon  the  Areopagus.  "  (God)  hath 
made  of  one  blood  all  nations  of  men  for  to  dwell  on  all  the 
face  of  the  earth,  and  hath  determined  the  times  before  appoint- 
ed, and  the  bounds  of  their  habitations ;  that  they  should  seek 
the  Lord,  if  haply  they  might  feel  after  Him,  and  find  Him, 
although  He  he  not  far  from  every  oiie  of  us^  :}: 

We  take  it,  then,  that  this,  by  God's  will,  is  a  part  of  His 
system, — that  the  external  world  should  have  upon  man  a  moral 
and  spiritual  influence  ;  that  it  should  be  a  school  of  probation, 
to  awaken,  to  instruct,  and  even,  in  some  small  measure,  to  aid 
and  help  man  in  his  moral  weakness.     Not  that  man,  by  means 

*  Acts,  xiv.  15-17.  t  I^om-  i-  20.  X  Acts,  xvii.  26, 37. 


REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM.  269 

of  external  nature,  can  save  himself,  but  that  God  employs 
this  outward  world,  which  is  made  by  Him,  as  a  means  of  act- 
ing upon  the  moral  sense  of  man, — a  stimulus  whereby  he 
awakens  in  man  the  feeling  toward  a  knowledge  of  Himself. 

For  it  is  not  to  be  forgotten  that  the  same  flaw  which 
passes  through  man's  nature,  and  renders  him,  of  himself,  inca- 
pable of  obeying  the  law  of  God, — making  him  subject  to  con- 
demnation,— this  same  flaw  is  declared  in  Holy  Writ  to  pass  also 
through  the  whole  outer  world  of  external  nature.  The  same 
wound  that  pierced  through  man's  whole  being,  and  all  its 
powers,  and  left  disease  and  death  in  them  all,  passed  also 
through  external  nature  and  all  its  powers.  Man  was  the  lord 
and  kingly  vicegerent  of  the  whole  outward  world,  and  the 
infection  and  vitiation  that  came  upon  him  came  also  upon  his 
realm.  This,  although  somewhat  obscured  in  our  English 
version,  is  the  undoubted  doctrine  of  Holy  Writ.  "  The  ear- 
nest expectation  of  the  creation  waiteth  for  the  manifestation  of 
the  sons  of  God.  For  the  creation  was  made  subject  to  sin 
(vanity,  in  the  Hebrew  idiom),  not  willingly,  but  by  reason  of 
him  who  hath  subjected  the  same  in  hope.  And  the  creation 
itself  also  shall  be  delivered  from  the  bondage  of  corruption 
into  the  glorious  liberty  of  the  sons  of  God."  * 

Hence,  from  the  outward  world  of  nature,  no  more  than 
from  his  own  inward  being,  can  man  obtain  full  light  and  full 
freedom, — light  enough  to  awaken,  in  some  degree,  his  spiritual 
sense,  to  enable  him  to  see  his  own  state ;  freedom  enough  to 
struggle  and  be  convinced,  practically,  that  he  needs  a  Redeemer, 
and  that  he  absolutely  requires  supernatural  help  and  aid  to 
his  weakness, — this  is  all  that  is  given  him.  If,  therefore, 
there  comes  to  man,  through  nature,  light  and  moral  illumin- 
ation, training  and  teaching,  as  in  a  school,  this  is  not  of  nature 
merely,  or  its  unaided  powers.  It  is  simply  that  the  external 
world,  being  the  creation  of  God,  He  employs  it,  although  it  is 
flawed  and  imperfect,  that,  by  means  of  it  and  through  it,  His 
influences  toward  good  may  act  upon  man. 
*  Romans,  viii.  19-21. 


270  REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM. 

See,  then,  the  flaw  and  vitiation  in  man's  being,  rendering 
him,  of  himself,  incapable  of  obeying  the  Law  of  God.  Behold 
the  Law  manifesting  his  duty  to  him,  and  yet  the  result  being 
that  by  it  he  is  condemned.  Then  behold  the  outward  world, 
in  its  action  upon  him,  as  a  perpetual  stimulant  toward  that 
which,  of  himself,  by  his  utmost  exertion,  he  cannot  reach. 
Truly,  if  you  take  man  as  he  is,  in  himself,  unassisted,  there  is  no 
paradox,  no  contradiction  of  terms  sufficiently  strong,  no  anti- 
nomy of  propositions  discordant  enough  to  describe  him.  But 
take  these  facts  of  man's  original  being,  and  of  his  present  fallen 
state,  and  then  place  close  by  them  the  doctrine  that  this  world 
is  a  school  of  probation,  in  connection  with  those  of  redemp- 
tion and  regeneration,  and  all  becomes  plain, — nature  then  is 
exj^lained  by  the  Gospel,  and  revelation  is  supported  by  nature. 

We  shall  illustrate  this  doctrine  of  man's  state  a  little  fur- 
ther. In  no  man  is  sin  committed  with  the  dull  stupidity  of 
an  unconscious  brute  animal ;  nor,  on  the  other  hand,  with  the 
despair  of  a  condemned  fiend, — an  evil  intellectual  being,  with- 
out help  or  hope.  But  in  all  ordinary  cases  of  sin,  the  sense 
of  degradation  comes  in,  and  of  an  organic  fall  from  a  higher 
state.  This  is  what  man's  restlessness,  and  even  man's  misery, 
means :  that  God  is  perpetually  awakening  in  him  the  sense  and 
conviction  of  sin,  in  order  that  he  may  seek  onward  toward  its 
full  remission — toward  a  state  of  sonship  and  salvation,  even 
in  this  world.  Thus,  by  God's  good  pleasure,  all  men  in  the 
state  of  nature  are  being  moved  and  led  onward  toward  the 
state  of  grace,  if  they  will  only  give  themselves  to  His  guidance. 

And  midway  in  the  man's  career,  between  the  two  states  of 
nature  and  of  grace,  lies  for  him  the  one  great  fact  of  our  Lord's 
death  and  sacrifice  for  sin,  of  the  atonement  of  Christ.  If  to 
man  in  a  state  of  nature  there  is  light  to  lead  him  onward 
toward  heaven,  from  the  Cross,  its  rays  fall  upon  the  gloom  in 
which  he  wanders.  If  grace  be  given,  prevenient  or  assisting, 
to  enable  the  man  yet  in  the  state  of  nature  to  move  toward 
the  state  of  regeneration,  from  the  Cross  does  that  mission  of 
the  Life-giving  Spirit  take  its  rise. 


REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM.  271 

And  with  the  apphcation  of  the  merits  of  Christ's  death 
and  sacrifice  to  the  man  in  his  baptism  the  state  of  nature  ends. 
Witli  it  the  state  of  grace  begins.  For,  as  regards  man,  bap- 
tism lies  central  between  the  two  states,  being  the  terminus  that 
ends  the  one  and  begins  the  other.  By  being  regenerate,  by 
being  born  again,  he  leaves  the  old  state,  and  enters  upon  the 
new.  And,  at  his  entrance  into  the  new  state,  the  first  and 
initial  gift  to  his  faith  is  the  forgiveness  of  all  his  sins. 

We  have  seen  the  state  in  which  man  is,  of  himself,  and  of 
his  own  unaided  nature.  We  have  shown,  also,  that  God  does 
not  leave  him  alone,  even  in  a  state  of  nature,  but  moves  and 
leads  him  perpetually  onward  toward  a  better  state.  We  give 
no  more  proofs  of  this,  additionally,  than  these  two  in  refer- 
ence to  our  Lord, — the  Eternal  Word,  and  His  Spirit :  "  This  is 
the  true  light,  that  lighteneth  every  man  that  cometli  into  the 
world."  *  "  The  grace  of  God  that  bringeth  salvation  hath 
appeared  unto  all  men."f  We  fully  believe  that  the  beams  of 
light  which  come  from  Christ  our  Lord  reach  to  every  human 
being  upon  the  earth.  We  do  not  say  in  full  enlightenment, 
for  this  is  the  privilege  only  of  those  who  are  regenerated  and 
justified  ;  but  that  to  all  men,  everywhere,  lying  as  they  are, 
by  mere  nature,  in  darkness,  light  is  sent  by  God  into  their 
darkness.  It  may  be  but  a  faint  ray,  but  still  it  is  light,  that 
they  may  see  their  own  darkness,  that  they  may  follow  the  light 
and  be  led  onward  by  it  until  they  reach  the  great  central 
source  of  light, — the  Cross  of  Christ.  We  believe  that  the  Holy 
Spirit  speaks  to  each  human  being,  in  a  voice  wholly  unheard 
by  the  outward  world,  it  may  be,  but  still  as  a  voice  audible  to 
his  own  soul,  and  calling  upon  him  to  arise,  and  to  walk  on- 
ward in  and  upon  the  right  way. 

To  this  fact  of  God's  dealing  with  the  fallen  race  of  man, 
allusion  is  made  in  that  beautiful  chapter  in  the  Proverbs  in 
wdiich  wisdom  is  personified, — "  Doth  not  wisdom  cry  ?  and 
understanding  put  forth  her  voice  ?  She  standeth  in  the  top 
of  high  places,  by  the  way  in  the  places  of  the  paths.  Unto 
*  John,  i.  9.  f  Titus,  ii.  11. 


272  REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM. 

yon,  O  men,  I  call ;  and  mj  voice  is  to  the  sons  of  men."  *  If 
to  man  tliere  is  light  even  in  the  smallest  degree, — if  there  is 
a  feeling  of  his  sin,  and  aid  to  move  onward, — if,  through  the 
world  of  manifold  influences  that  surround  him,  this  help  in  his 
weakness  comes  to  man, — it  is  that  the  good  Shepherd  goes 
forth  to  seek  the  sheep  that  is  lost,  that  his  voice  is  calling 
through  the  wilderness,  his  lamp  is  shining  through  the  dark- 
ness. 

We  shall  illustrate  this  doctrine  a  little  more  by  a  circum- 
stance that  happened  to  ourself  personally.  We  were  out,  in 
the  beginning  of  winter,  upon  a  treeless  prairie  in  the  West. 
We  had  lost  our  way,  and  night  came  on,  and  with  it  a  furious 
storm  of  cold  rain  and  sleet.  We  did  not  know  where  to  turn, 
for  there  was  no  road  or  track  in  the  new  and  unsettled  coun- 
try to  guide  us,  and  had  there  been,  it  was  too  dark  for  us  to  see 
it.  What  with  the  rain  and  the  darkness,  we  were  in  a  perish- 
ing state.  As  a  last  resource  we  turned  round  (in  a  circle)  so 
as  to  sweep  the  whole  circuit  of  the  darkness.  We  saw  a  feeble 
light  at  a  distance.  It  must  have  been  four  or  five  miles  away. 
We  set  ourself  toward  it,  because  it  was  light,  and  the  only 
light  we  had.  We  went  on  through  the  storm,  over  rough  and 
difficult  ground,  firmly  fixing  our  eyes  on  the  light.  Finally 
we  reached  it.  We  found  a  house  and  shelter  and  M^armth. 
This  is  the  condition  of  man  by  nature, — the  darkness,  the  wil- 
derness, the  perishing  state ;  and  at  the  same  time  the  light 
shines  upon  him, — feeble,  it  may  be,  and  remote ;  yet  it  is  to  be 
followed,  heeauseit  is  light  j  and  finally  it  leads  to  the  Cross  of 
Christ,  to  the  Church,  the  temple  of  God  upon  earth.  In  it,  is 
the  entrance,  by  the  door  of  baptism,  upon  a  state  most  dififer- 
ent  from  that  of  nature, — the  state  of  salvation. 

Has  not  this  ever  been  God's  way  of  dealing  with  the  hu- 
man race  ?  Yes,  surely  it  has.  The  ancient  heathen  tell  us 
of  the  light  which  comes  forth  to  man.  They  even  reached 
unto  the  idea  of  a  Word  of  God, — the  same  doctrine,  in  some 

*  Proverbs,  viii.  1-4.      We  do  not  cite  the  wliole  of  this  beautiful  para 
ble.     Read  onward  to  the  thirty-sixth  verse. 


REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM.  273 

degree,  that  lies  in  front  of  the  Gospel  of  St.  John.  They  felt, 
even  in  their  darkness  and  gloom,  the  outflowings  of  the  per- 
sonal Spirit  and  of  the  Eternal  Word,  calling  upon  man  to  walk 
onward  in  the  waj.  True,  their  sense  and  feeling  of  the  facts 
was  but  dim.  It  is  only  our  knowledge  from  revelation  that 
interprets  to  us  what  they  have  said.  But  we  can  see  that  to 
them  the  facts  existed,  that  to  fallen  man  the  light  of  the  Word 
and  the  voice  of  the  Spirit  forever  go  forth,  have  forever  gone 
forth. 

What,  then,  came  of  the  heathen  before  Christ,  these  that 
were  outside  the  covenant  and  the  election  ?  We  know  not 
how  they  availed  themselves  of  what  God  gave  them,  but  we 
know  this,  that  "  the  God  of  the  whole  earth  is  not  unjust." 
We  know,  too,  that  His  Apostle  has  said,  in  his  address  to  a 
heathen  captain,  "In  every  nation  he  that  feareth  Him,  and 
worketh  righteousness,  is  accepted  of  Him."  *  We  know, 
also,  that  God,  our  Lord,  speaking  of  that  last  great  day  of  judg- 
ment, says,  "  That  many  shall  come  from  the  east  and  the  west, 
and  shall  sit  down  with  Abraham,  and  Isaac,  and  Jacob,  in  the 
kingdom  of  heaven,  and  the  children  of  the  kingdom  shall  be 
cast  into  outer  darkness :  there  shall  be  weeping  and  gnashing 
of  teeth."  f  We  know,  furthermore,  that  outside  the  cove- 
nant and  election  there  always  have  been  men  holy  and  good, 
accepted  with  God.  Such  were  Abimelech,  Hobab  the  Kenite, 
and  even  Job  the  Idumean  prince,  whose  book  is  in  the  canon 
of  the  Holy  Scriptures,  and  Melchizedek  the  king  of  Salem, 
the  king  of  righteousness  and  the  king  of  peace,  most  highly 
honored  of  them  all. 

But  do  not  the  Holy  Scriptures  say  that  "he  that  believeth 
not  shall  be  damned  "  ?  The  translation  used  by  the  Latin  or 
Western  Church  says  so ;  our  English  translation.  King  James's 
version,  says  so  too ;  but  the  original  says  no  such  thing.  The 
true  sense  is,  "  He  that  dishelieveth  shall  be  damned."  This 
puts  quite  a  different  look  upon  the  matter. 

On  the  whole,  we  think  that  this  view  of  the,  case  of  the 

*Acts,  x.'35.  f.  St.  Matthew,  viii.  11, 12. 

18 


274  BEGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM, 

heathen  is  more  conformable  to  what  we  know  of  the  nature 
and  being  of  God,  than  is  that  of  the  Latin  Church  and  the 
Calvinists.  We  have  only  a  certain  amount  of  the  facts  requi- 
site to  a  complete  solution  of  the  question.  These  we  have 
given  above.  We  can  rest  in  them,  and  in  the  analogies  dra^vn 
from  them,  in  faith  that  the  God  of  the  whole  earth  is  not 
unjust  to  his  children,  either  in  this  world  or  at  the  judgment 
day.  And  we  can  be  contented  to  believe  that  now  there  are 
many  things  hidden  from  us  of  God's  purposes  and  His  oper- 
ation, which  we  cannot  comprehend,  and  that,  in  a  future  world, 
we  may  see  them  clearly. 

We  have  spoken,  so  far,  of  the  state  of  mere  nature  before 
Christ,  because  it  was,  in  a  degree,  necessary  to  the  question. 
Since  our  Lord  came  upon  the  earth,  mere  nature,  we  think, 
is,  in  itself,  the  same.  It  is  flawed  and  diseased  by  sin.  It  is 
condemned  by  the  ever-present  law.  It  is,  of  itself,  wholly  un- 
able, and  in  a  perishing  state  ;  yet  perpetually  it  is  called  upon 
by  the  Spirit  of  God  to  repentance  from  past  sins,  and  to  know 
and  believe  in  God,  But  now  the  consummation  of  all  things 
has  come,  the  system  of  God's  operation  stands  at  length  com- 
plete upon  the  earth.  That  which  all  the  sons  of  men  desired, 
and  did  not  see, — that  which  the  most  accorded  with  all  the 
wonderful  truths  of  God's  being,  and  all  the  sorrow  and  needs 
of  man  upon  the  earth, — has  been  completed.  "  God,  who  at 
sundry  times  and  in  divers  manners  spake  in  times  past  unto 
the  fathers  by  the  prophets,  hath  in  these  last  days  spoken  unto 
us  by  His  Son,  whom  He  hath  appointed  heir  of  all  things, 
by  whom  also  He  made  the  worlds ;  who  being  the  eftulgence 
of  His  glory,  and  the  express  image  of  His  person,  and  up- 
holding all  things  by  the  word  of  His  power,  when  He  had 
by  Himself  made  atonement  for  our  sins,  has  taken  His  seat 
on  the  right  hand  of  the  Majesty  on  high."  * 

See,  then,  in  this  completed  system,  the  power  of  full  for- 
giveness to  man, — the  power  of  his  becoming  a  son  of  God  in 
truth  and  in  reality.  And,  above  all,  behold  the  kingdom  of 
*  Hebrews,  i.  1-4. 


REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM.  275 

God — the  Church  of  Christ — founded  and  abiding  upon  the 
earth.  The  Word  of  God  had  through  all  ages  gone  forth,  over 
the  whole  world  of  fallen  man,  with  manifold  rays  of  light, 
calling  all  human  beings  onward  toward  Himself.  Now  has 
He  become  incarnate,  and  has  been  made  man  ;  now  has  He 
died  for  us  and  for  our  salvation ;  now  has  He,  by  His  Spirit, 
instituted  the  Church,  a  society  visibly  existing  upon  the  earth, 
so  close-bound  in  mystical  union  with  Him  that  it  is  called, 
and  is,  His  body.  And  the  Spirit  is  its  vital  and  organizing 
life.  See  how  appropriate  this  is.  The  Word  and  the  Spirit 
call  all  men  to  God.  To  them,  therefore,  is  the  continual 
being  and  existence  of  the  Church  due.  The  Word  has 
ever  given  light  to  all  our  fallen  race.  In  the  Church,  there- 
fore, of  the  Incarnate  Word,  is  all  light  for  man.  The  Spirit, 
from  the  beginning,  has  convinced  all  men  of  sin,  has  gone 
forth  to  them  all  upon  that  message.  Unto  all  men,  then,  in 
the  Church,  is  given,  by  the  Spirit,  full  remission  and  sufficient 
grace.  All  men  were  dead  in  sin, — they  are  called  to  life  in 
Christ ;  the}''  were  under  bondage, — they  are  called  to  freedom 
in  Him.  They  were  slaves  or  bondsmen, — they  are  called  to 
become  sons  through  Christ.  All  these  gifts  and  privileges 
imply  a  Church  of  Christ  and  His  Spirit  upon  the  earth, — a 
home  for  His  brethren,  the  sons,  through  Him,  of  the  Almighty 
Father;  a  kingdom  for  his  subjects,  a  fold  for  His  sheep, — a 
definite  and  distinctly  organized  society  visibly  existing,  into 
which  men  may  enter  visibly,  in  such  a  way  that  their  being 
therein  is  a  matter  of  no  doubt,  no  uncertainty,  but  that  each 
man  can  say  to  himself,  "  I  am  within  the  Clim'ch  of  the 
Living  God,"  or  else,  "  I  am  without  it." 

The  Holy  Catholic  Church  stands  upon  the  earth.  It  is 
the  temple  of  Christ  our  Lord,  the  abiding-place  of  the  Spirit. 
From  it  comes  forth  His  light  upon  all  the  race  of  fallen  man, 
from  it  His  voice  calls  upon  them  all.  Christ's  sacrifice  has 
been  offered, — the  one  atonement  for  all  men  has  been  made.. 
If  they  come  with  repentance  for  past  sins,  with  faith  in  our 
Lord,  then  can  they  have  full  remission  of  all  their  sins.    They 


2^6  REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM. 

can  become  sons  of  God,  tliey  can  enter  Mntliin  the  Church  of 
God.  All  this  takes  place  in  baptism  for  them — on  condition 
of  their  faith  and  repentance — by  the  Holy  Spirit  applying 
into  them,  then  and  there,  the  merits  of  the  death  of  Christ, 
our  most  blessed  Lord,  our  Saviour  and  Kedeemer,  And 
henceforth  the  man  baptized  is  a  son  of  God,  in  the  state  of 
grace  and  the  state  of  salvation, — not  in  the  state  of  nature 
and  of  condemnation.  With  baptism  the  state  of  nature  ends, 
the  state  of  grace  begins. 


CHAPTER  X. 

We  have  seen  what  man  is  in  the  state  of  Nature ;  let  ns 
now  see  what  he  is  in  the  state  of  Grace. 

What,  then,  are  the  blessings  in  this  state  to  the  man  ?  This 
one  blessing  is  the  first,  the  great  fact,  the  foundation  of  them 
all, — that  he  is  regenerated,  a  son  of  God  by  a  real  and  true 
spiritual  new-birth.  Therefore,  formerly  he  was  dead  in  sin ; 
now  is  he  alive  in  Christ.  Formerly  he  was  in  a  state  of  con- 
demnation ;  now  he  is  in  a  state  of  salvation.  Formerly  he 
was  a  slave  to  sin,  to  Satan,  and  death  ;  now  he  is  free  through 
Christ.  In  his  former  state  all  his  powers,  even  the  highest 
and  noblest,  were  wounded  mortally  by  sin  ;  now,  through  the 
life  of  Christ  in  him,  they  are  in  the  process  of  being  healed, 
so  that,  finally  cured  of  his  mortal  wound,  the  son  of  God  may 
stand,  at  the  last  day,  before  the  throne  of  God,  his  regeneration 
completed  and  perfected  by  the  resurrection, — then  entirely  in- 
capable of  falling,  the  glorious  man,  higher  than  Adam  in  his 
unfallen  state,  as  regenerated  and  renewed  after  the  image  of 
Christ. 

We  have  pointed  out  that  the  Church  of  God  has  two  as- 
pects,— the  natural  aspect,  as  a  visible  society  existing  in  the 
world ;  again,  a  supernatural  aspect,  as  being  at  the  same  time 
the  Church  of  God  upon  the  earth, — upheld  by  the  Spirit, — the 
body  of  Christ  full  of  spiritual  and  miraculous  blessings, — 
never  to  perish  in  this  world.  According  to  this  view,  the  bap- 
tized man  has  entered  within  a  body  which,  at  one  and  the  same 
time,  is  natural  and  supernatural ;  and,  therefore,  he  is  made  the 
subject  of  blessings,  natural  and  supernatural.  See  how  full 
the  Church  is  for  the  man  of  moral  benefits  which  are  visible. 


278  REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM. 

tangible,  and  real,  and  yet  all  these  find  their  foundation  to  rest 
upon  in  the  supernatural.  See  the  moral  influence  of  the  min- 
istry, their  teaching  from  house  to  house,  their  blessed  work 
among  the  poor,  their  catechising  of  the  young,  their  preach- 
ing, their  example.  This  is  the  one  profession  which  works 
not  for  proiit  or  ambition,  but  lays  its  basis  upon  a  supernatu- 
ral mission  to  do  good  :  the  being  sent  by  the  Spirit  of  God, — 
being  commissioned  by  Christ, — being  endowed  with  powers 
that  come  not  from  man.  Do  we  not,  then,  see  that  all  the 
work  of  the  ministry,  like  the  Church  itself,  has  a  natural  as- 
pect and  a  supernatural  one  also  ? 

Again,  looking  at  the  services  of  the  Church,  we  behold  the 
same  thing.  In  a  mere  moral  and  natural  point  of  view  these 
are  a  blessing  to  the  land,  and  to  man.  The  sanctifying  influ- 
ences, and  the  rest  of  the  seventh  day, — the  operation  of  litur- 
gic  prayer  upon  the  moral  powers, — the  efiiect  of  a  definite 
faith  in  the  creeds,  pi'oducing  definite  principles  of  action  in 
life  and  conduct, — the  moral  uses  of  the  constant  repetition, 
the  constant  acceptance  and  confession  of  the  Ten  Command- 
ments, the  highest  law  of  morality, — the  reading  of  the  Script- 
ure continually  in  the  ears  of  the  people,  and  the  instruction 
thereby  given  them  in  all  the  duties  of  life,— the  peculiar  value 
which  the  Church  of  Christ  has  always  placed  upon  the 
Psalms,  and  their  result  in  creating  man's  character  Christ- 
like ; — again,  the  Church's  doctrine  of  marriage, — her  doc- 
trine of  the  sacredness  of  the  family, — her  doctrine  of  infant 
baptism,  and  the  whole  doctrine  of  Christian  education  depend- 
ing upon  it, — all  these  things  are,  in  one  aspect,  natural.  The 
moral  use  and  etfect  of  them  is  perfectly  manifest  to  any  clear- 
headed, thinking  man,  in  the  Church  or  outside  of  it.  For  the 
mere  moral  benefits  of  these  things,  if  for  nothing  else,  a  man 
who  looks  merely  to  social  and  domestic  morality,  to  peace  and 
happiness  in  his  own  home,  should  look  with  favor  upon  the 
Church  of  Christ. 

Yet  all  these  natural  benefits  will  be  found  to  have  their 
roots  and  their  foundations  in  and  upon  the  supernatural.  For 


REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM.  279 

this  is  the  constant  state  and  condition  of  the  Church  upon 
earth :  tliat  the  heavenly  shines  through  the  earthly,  and  the 
spiritual  glows  through  the  moral,  with  such  a  glory  that  it 
attracts  to  itself  even  the  admiration  of  the  mere  natural  man. 
"  Do  we  not  see,"  says  Julian  the  Apostate,  to  the  pagan  high- 
priest  of  Galatia,  Arsacius,  "what  has  made  popular  and 
increased  the  Christian  religion  ?  It  is  their  hospitality  to 
strangers,  their  thoughtfulness  and  care  in  regard  to  the  burial 
of  the  dead,  the  sanctity  and  holiness  of  their  life.  And, 
therefore,"  he  goes  on,  "  you,  and  all  the  priests  under  you,  are 
to  cultivate  the  same  qualities,  that  you  may  stem  the  tide  of 
this  atheistic  superstition."  * 

Poor  Julian  !  Poor  Arsacius !  All  these  acts  of  goodness  and 
practical  morality  in  the  Christians,  which  made  them  so  popular, 
went  back  to  their  doctrine  of  the  Incarnation  of  God  the  Word, 
and  the  consequent  sanctity  of  the  human  body, — to  their  doc- 
trine of  angels  and  the  angelic  world, — to  their  doctrines  of  sin 
and  holiness,  of  man's  new  birth  in  this  world,  and  of  his  hopes 
of  heaven  in  the  next.  Upon  this  basis  of  faith  were  these  acts 
founded.  What  had  a  pagan  high -priest  to  do  with  them  ? 
The  command  of  the  emperor,  that  with  all  his  underlings  he 
should  do  the  works  of  Christian  faith  and  love,  in  order  that 
they  might  compete  for  popularity  with  the  Christian  clergy, 
was  historically  a  failure.  Yet  still  it  illustrates  our  subject.  It 
shows,  very  strikingly,  we  think,  how,  in  the  Christian  Church, 
the  supernatural  shines  through  the  natural,  so  as  to  be  attrac- 
tive even  to  unbelievers. 

And  we  may  say  that  to  the  man  within  the  Church  of 
Christ  all  these  natural  blessings  are  given  as  the  fi-uits  of  the 
supernatural  doctrines,  organization,  and  tradition  of  the 
Church.  It  is  not  that,  being  within  the  Church  of  Christ,  he 
is  morally,  mentally,  bodily,  as  well  off  as  if  he  were  in  any 
other  religious  society,  and  so  loses  nothing.  It  is  that,  so  far 
as  mere  natural  influences  are  concerned,  the  Christian  is  in 
the  best  possible  condition,  in  all  these  respects,  that  he  can 
*  The  whole  passage  is  to  be  found  in  Sozomen,  Book  v.  chap.  13. 


280  REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM. 

be  in  this  world.  The  best,  we  say,  considering  the  man's 
own  nature  and  temper,  his  past  life,  and  his  eternal  happi- 
ness. Let  those  who  are  within  the  Church,  baptized  with  the 
baptism  of  Christ  (we  mean  the  earnest  and  thoughtful),  tliink, 
and  they  will  find,  from  their  experience,  that  it  is  so.  And  by 
and  by  the  whole  world  shall  come  round  to  the  same  conclu- 
sion. 

We  go  on,  now,  to  the  supernatural  blessings  given  to  man 
in  the  Clnu-ch  of  God.  And  here  we  wouldnoticea  very  exact 
parallel  between  the  state  of  man  in  the  world  of  nature  and 
his  state  in  the  Church.  Man  is,  in  the  natural  sphere  of  his 
life,  upon  conditions.  So  far  as  his  state  is  a  state  of  proba- 
tion, he  has  the  full  benefits  of  his  own  constitution  and  of  the 
circumstances  that  surround  him,  only  by  availing  himself  of 
them  to  the  full.  Still,  the  very  fact  that  he  is  therein  is  a  bless- 
ing to  him.  God  withdraws  not  all  His  influences,  but  employs 
them  still  upon  the  man  for  his  good,  even  if  he  neglect  the 
conditions,  "  He  maketh  His  sun  to  rise  on  the  evil  and  on 
the  good,  and  sendeth  rain  on  the  just  and  on  the  unjust."  * 
So  it  is  in  the  Church  of  Christ  on  the  earth.  They  only  that 
have  a  justifying  faith  enjoy  to  the  full  all  the  blessings  of  the 
Church  of  Christ  upon  earth,  natural  and  supernatural,  visible 
and  invisible.  Still,  even  to  the  thoughtless  and  careless,  naj'-, 
even  to  those  within  the  Church  that  are  evil,  there  are  benefits 
and  blessings  because  they  are  within  the  Church  of  God.  It 
is  full  of  blessings  even  to  them, — a  world  and  sphere  filled  with 
spiritual  influences. 

And  as  we  see  not  the  secret  things  of  God's  operation  upon 
them,  His  dealings  with  their  secret  souls,  so,  again,  we  do  not 
see  the  secret  things  of  the  man's  own  heart.  Only  this  we 
know,  as  the  final  result  of  each  man's  career,  that  no  one  is 
condemned  but  that  he  is  justly  condemned.  And  this  would 
seem  very  distinctly  to  imply  that,  in  the  course  of  the  whole 
life  of  each  man  in  the  Church  of  Christ,  known,  it  may  be, 
only  to  himself  and  the  all-seeing  God,  all  the  means  of 
*  St.  Matthew,  v.  45. 


REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM.  281 

salvation  needful  to  him  have  been  proffered  and  given, 
and  he  that  is  finally  condemned  has  rejected  them  all 
of  his  own  free  will.  There  is  an  nnseen  world  of  man's 
thought ;  there  is  also  another  world  unseen,  of  God's  secret 
dealings  with  His  children.  These  two,  summed  up  and 
known,  and  the  account  closed  at  the  day  of  judgment, 
will  declare  God's  justice.  These  considerations  enable  us  to 
see  how — to  those  who  are  within  the  Church  of  Christ,  even 
if  they  are  negligent  of  their  privileges,  even  if  they  are  sin- 
ful— there  are  manifold  spiritual  influences  given  them  and 
acting  upon  them,  which  they  have,  because  they  are  sons 
and  not  aliens,*  within  the  Church,  and  not  without  it. 

The  sons  of  God,  therefore,  those  who  are  baptized,  are 
divided  into  two  classes.  First,  those  who  are  justified — 
that  is  to  say,  those  who  have  a  living  faith,  and  thus  avail 
themselves,  to  the  utmost,  of  all  the  blessings  of  their  sonship, 
of  the  life  that  is  within  them,  and  the  influences  that  are 
around  them;  and,  again,  the  second  class  is  that  of  those  who, 
being  regenerate,  are  not  justified,  wdiether  through  careless- 
ness or  through  downright  rebellion.  To  both  these  classes,  as 
we  have  seen,  there  are  spiritual  blessings  tending  to  their  good, 
because  they  are  within  the  Church  of  Christ  upon  the  earth. 
And  a  living  faith  in  the  person  it  is  that  makes  the  dividing 
line  between  these  two  classes.  It  manifestly  makes  a  great 
difference  in  the  individual  man  whether  he  uses  the  gifts  to 
which  he  has  the  title,  or  rejects  them.  But  whether  he  does 
so  or  not,  the  gifts  are  treasured  up  within  the  Church  of  Christ, 
and  are  offered  to  every  son  of  God  in  the  appointed  way.  At 
the  present  point,  therefore,  our  business  is  to  ask  what  are  the 
spiritual  and  supernatural  gifts  in  the  Church  of  God,  which 
are  offered  to  every  Christian,  to  every  son  of  God,  on  the  one 
condition  of  his  faith  ?  Greatest,  as  we  have  said,  of  all  super- 
natural and  miraculous  gifts  on  the  earth,  is  that  of  his  new 
birth, — that  in  this  world  man  should  be  the  son  of  God,  in  the 
Church  of  God. 

*  Heb.  xii.  7. 


282  REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM. 

But  to  US,  of  these  last  times,  the  blessings  of  the  former 
dispensation  are  all  united,  and  contained  in  the  Church  of 
Christ.  The  visible  Church  on  earth,  therefore,  is  the  election, 
as  was  the  people  of  Israel  of  old,  and  every  baptized  man  is 
one  of  the  elect.  Again,  in  the  Patriarchal  dispensation, 
Abraham  was  in  covenant  with  God ;  so,  therefore,  are  all  the 
baptized. 

Let  us  look  at  these  two  privileges  a  little.  We  have  seen 
that  the  Word  and  the  Spirit  ever  go  forth  unto  man.  Hence, 
if  man  come  toward  God,  it  is  that  God  has  gone  forth  to  him 
with  His  prevenient  grace.  If  he  follows  that  light,  and  is  bap- 
tized into  the  Church  of  God,  while,  it  may  be,  that  he  acts  of 
his  own  free  will,  it  is  God  that  has  enabled  him  to  come. 
Hence,  to  nothing  else,  ultimately,  but  the  free  choice  of  God, 
to  his  mercy  wholly  undeserved,  can  man  consider  it  due  that 
he  is  within  the  number  of  the  baptized,  of  those  who  have 
all  the  privileges  and  blessings  of  the  visible  body  of  the  elect 
which  God  has  upon  the  earth.  These,  therefore,  who  are 
chosen  into  that  visible  body  upon  the  earth,  through  the  course 
of  God's  providence  in  this  world,  are  called  the  "  elect,"  or 
the  "  chosen."  They  are  elect  {electi,  from  eligo,  to  choose), 
that  is,  chosen  by  God's  mercy  out  of  the  world,  absolutely,  to 
the  privileges  and  blessings  of  the  Church,  conditionally,  for 
this  purpose,— that  they  should  be  saved,  should  make  their  call- 
ing and  election  sure.* 

The  elect  body  was  the  family  of  Abraham  and  the  Patri- 
archs fii'st, — then  it  was  the  Jewish  nation, — now  it  is  the 
Christian  Church.  "Ye  are,"  says  St.  Peter,  in  his  general 
Epistle  to  all  Christians,  "  a  chosen  (elect)  generation,  a  royal 
priesthood,  a  peculiar  (a  purchased)  people ;  that  ye  should  show 
forth  the  praises  of  Him  who  hath  called  you  out  of  darkness 
into  His  marvellous  light."  f  Therefore,  let  us  not  forget  these 
privileges  also, — that  God  has  gone  forth  and  sought  for  us,  and 
found  us  ;  that,  when  He  might  have  left  us  in  a  state  of  mere 
nature,  He  has  placed  us  among  the  number  of  His  elect ;  that 
*  II.  Peter,  i.  10.       f  I.  Peter,  ii.  9.     (What  a  sublime  idea  and  fact !) 


REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM.  283 

He  gives  us  sufficient  grace,  and  that,  if  we  perish,  we  perish 
because  we  have  of  our  own  free  will  cast  aside  and  rejected  the 
means  of  our  salvation. 

But,  furthermore,  we,  who  are  in  the  Church  of  Christ,  are 
in  covenant  with  God,  as  Abraham  was.  This  is  an  actual 
and  real  covenant.  See  how  grand  this  doctrine  is,  that, 
through  the  mediation  of  our  Lord,  "■  the  Mediator  of  the 
New  Covenant,"  inan  can  actually  be  in  covenant  with  God ; 
that,  on  certain  and  distinct  conditions,  man  is  hound  to  God 
and  God  also  to  man !  I  am  pledged  to  Him  in  my  bap- 
tism, solemnly — in  a  covenant,  before  the  whole  congregation, 
by  my  sponsors — "  to  renounce  the  world,  the  flesh,  and  the 
devil";  "  to  believe  all  the  Articles  of  the  Christian  faith;" 
"  to  keep  His  holy  will  and  commandments  all  the  days  of  my 
life."  And  then,  on  the  other  part,  He,  the  Almighty,  is 
bound  to  me  through  the  intercession  of  His  Son,  to  give  me, 
in  this  world,  all  spiritual  blessings,  all  the  grace  and  the 
guidance  that  may  lead  me  onward  to  everlasting  life  in  heaven. 

These  three  spiritual  blessings  of  regeneration,  election,  and 
the  covenant,  all  cluster  around  the  sacrament  of  baptism,  all 
are  given  to  him  who,  in  God's  appointed  way,  with  heartfelt 
repentance  and  a  living  faith,  receives  Christ.  These,  together 
with  full  remission  of  all  our  past  sins,  embrace  the  initial 
blessings  of  the  Gospel.  1st.  Our  sins  are  all  forgiven  through 
the  death  and  sacritice  of  our  Lord.  2d.  We  are  all  the  sons 
of  God  through  the  faith  in  Christ  Jesus.*  3d.  We  all  are 
brought  within  the  number  of  the  elect.  4th.  We  also  are 
all  made  members  of  the  New  Covenant  through  Jesus  Christ. 

We  are,  therefore,  not  sent  to  our  own  argumentations,  to 
the  uncertainty  of  our  reason,  or  the  ebb  and  flow  of  our  own 
emotions,  for  evidence  of  our  actual  state  before  God.  No  !  this 
is  not  what  the  Church  of  God  says  to  the  baptized  man.  It 
is  this : 

"Are  you  within  the  visible  Church  of  God,  by  holy  bap- 
tism received,  with  a  sincere  sorrow  for  your  past  sins,  in  an 

*  Gal.  iii.  26. 


284  REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM. 

honest  and  earnest  faith  ?  If  so,  then  are  you  a  child  of  God ; 
the  Father  is  your  father,  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  is  your  brother, 
the  Spirit  is  your  inheritance,  indwelHng  in  you  with  sufficient 
grace,  if  you  will  use  it  as  it  is  given.  You  are,  also,  elect, 
chosen  out  of  the  world,  among  the  number  whom  God  has 
called  to  salvation.  Only,  therefore,  of  your  own  will,  by 
yielding  to  sin  when  you  have  the  power  and  the  grace  to 
resist  and  to  triumph,  can  you  perish. 

"  You  are,  moreover,  in  covenant  with  God.  He  is  bound 
to  you  for  your  salvation,  on  conditions  which  he  has  given  you 
the  power  to  fulfil.  Trust,  then,  in  God,  and  in  the  permanent 
benefits  He  has  conferred  upon  you, — His  law  to  rule  your  life 
by  ;  the  Holy  Scriptures  as  your  chart ;  the  ministry  your  advis- 
ers ;  the  Spirit  of  Grace  your  soul's  secret  counsellor ;  the  ever- 
living  Lord  your  Prophet,  Priest,  and  King,  and  all  the  means 
of  grace  he  has  so  richly  given  in  the  Church,  His  kingdom. 
Why  should  you  reject  all  these  blessings  and  their  habitual 
use  and  benefit,  and  cast  them  aside,  and  then  go  searching  for 
proofs  of  your  state  and  condition  in  the  inward  emotions  of 
your  own  mind,  when  you  know  that  a  little  bodily  sickness  over- 
shadows the  mind  with  gloom,  a  little  stimulant  medicine  raises 
it  up  to  unnatural  and  unfounded  hope  ?  No !  This  wyrld,  out- 
side us,  is  uncertain ;  happiness  and  misery,  sorrow  and  joy, 
hope  and  despondency,  are  waves  that  ever  roll  over  the  ocean 
of  life.  And,  again,  man's  reason,  his  emotions,  thoughts,  and 
feelings,  internally,  are  fickle.  God  has  not  left  us  wholly,  or 
mainly,  to  these.  He  has  given  us,  in  the  Church,  the  sacra- 
ments, the  ministry,  the  Scriptures, — objective  certainties,  facts 
independent  of  our  feelings,  solid  land  amid  the  stormy  seas 
of  merely  subjective,  personal  emotion. 

"  Upon  these  we  are  to  anchor.  By  these  we  are  to  stay 
ourselves.  To  these  let  us  hold  fast,  and  say,  in  despite  of  the 
world  and  its  uncertainties,  in  despite  of  our  own  ebbings  and 
Sowings  of  mental  emotion,  '  We  have  a  firm  and  unwaver- 
ing faith  in  Him  who  has  made  us  His  sons,  has  enrolled  us 
in  the  number  of  His  elect,  has  taken  us  into  His  covenant.' " 


REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM.  285 

Such  are  the  privileges  of  the  baptized, — to  be  sons  of  God, 
to  be  elect  absolutely  to  the  privileges  of  the  Church,  condi- 
tionally to  salvation ;  to  be  in  covenant  with  God,  having 
given  unto  them,  at  their  baptism,  full  remission  of  all  their 
sins,  and  to  have,  on  condition  of  their  habitual  faith,  a  full 
certainty  of  this,  their  fourfold  state. 

We  are  aware  that  this  is  not  the  belief  of  the  masses  of 
men  in  this  land  that  call  themselves  Christians.  They  think 
that  the  Bible  is  given  to  man,  and  that  from  it  he  has  to  make 
his  own  faith  by  his  own  investigation,  his  own  argumentation. 
They  think  that,  after  that,  he  has  to  organize  his  own  societies 
or  churches  for  all  that  agree  with  him  in  that  faith.  That  he 
has  then  to  constitute  his  own  preachers  or  lecturers,  to  preach 
to  him  and  them  upon  it.  And  when  we  add  to  all  this 
wretched  religionism,  the  popular  materialistic  doctrines  of  the 
absolute  control  of  physical  laws  over  man,  and  of  the  nature 
of  society,  we  find  the  supernatural  shut  out  and  exiled  from 
the  consciousness  of  man, — as  far  as  man  can  do  this,  which  it 
is  impossible  wholly  to  do.  The  ordinary  religion  is  to  blame. 
It  strives  to  get  rid  of  the  supernatural,  to  banish  all  that  is 
above  nature,  save  that  one  dogma, — that  the  Bible  is  inspired. 

Not  so  Holy  Writ.  Not  so  the  Primitive  Church.  Not  so 
the  Apostles.  If  man  has  light,  it  is  from  the  Word  of  God 
and  the  Spirit  of  God.  If  there  be  a  Church  upon  earth,  it  is 
by  their  present  power  that  it  exists,  and  is  kept  in  being.  If 
man  is  regenerate,  it  is  by  the  life  of  Christ,  and  by  the 
power  of  the  personal  Spirit ;  and  then,  if  he  is  in  the  Church 
of  God,  he  is  in  actual  covenant  with  the  Father  of  Heaven, 
through  Jesus  Christ  His  Son ;  as  really  and  truly  as  in  an 
ordinary  legal  bond,  drawn  up  and  signed  and  sealed,  he  is 
bound  to  his  fellow-man,  and  his  fellow-man  is  bound  to  him. 
And  the  Church  visible  upon  earth  is  also  miraculous,  super- 
natural, filled  with  blessings  above  nature,  with  privileges 
that  are  wholly  heavenly,  which,  on  condition  of  baptism 
and  a  living  faith,  are  given  him  in  full  abundance.  This, 
and  not   the  modern    rationalistic    view    alluded   to,  is    the 


286  REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM. 

doctrine  of  the  Bible.  We  might  bring  forward  hundreds  or 
thousands  of  passages  of  Holy  "Writ,  and  show  these  con- 
clusions in  them  all.  One  shall  suffice.  The  Apostle  says  to 
the  Christians,  to  whom  he  wrote,  "  Ye  are  not  come  to  the 
mountain  that  could  be  touched," — that  is,  to  the  palpable, 
visible  Sinai  in  the  Wilderness,  whereat  the  first  covenant  was 
concluded — "  But  ye  are  come  unto  Mount  Sion,  and  imto  the 
city  of  the  Living  God,  the  heavenly  Jerusalem,  and  to  an 
innumerable  company  of  angels,  to  the  general  assembly  and 
Church  of  the  first-born,  which  are  written  in  heaven,  and 
unto  God  the  Judge  of  all,  and  to  the  spirits  of  just  men 
made  perfect,  and  to  Jesus  the  mediator  of  the  new  covenant, 
and  to  the  blood  of  sprinkling,  that  speaketh  better  things 
than  that  of  Abel.  See,  then,  that  ye  refuse  not  Him  that 
speaketh."  * 

Such  are,  in  the  estimation  of  the  Apostle,  the  privileges  of 
Christians  in  this  world — supernatural,  miraculous,  and  spirit- 
ual— belonging  to  the  unseen  realities  of  heaven.  And  to 
this  agrees  the  whole  of  the  New  Testament.  Every  passage 
that  speaks  of  the  man  in  covenant  with  God  in  the  Church, 
implies  that,  being  in  the  world,  "  after  that  he  is  enlightened," 
baptized,  that  is,  he  has  "  tasted  of  the  heavenly  gift,  he  is  made 
partaker  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  and  has  tasted  the  good  word 
of  God  and  the  powers  of  the  world  to  come."  f 

We  go  on,  therefore,  to  consider  further  the  spiritual  gifts 
of  the  baptized,  who  have  a  living  and  justifying  faith.  The 
greatest  blessing,  manifestly,  of  such  a  faith  is,  that  by  it  the 
soul  is  opened  to  apprehend  and  realize  all  the  s]3iritual  powers 
and  blessings  wherewith  we  are  environed  and  endowed.  By 
it  the  life  of  God  in  us,  is  freed  from  all  obstacles  that  would 
impede  its  growth.  By  a  living  faith,  the  mental  eye  is  open 
to  the  spiritual  sense  of  Holy  Writ.  By  it  the  Law  of  God  is 
searched  out  and  applied  to  all  the  actions  of  life.  Consider 
what  a  realizing  earnestness  comes  into  the  soul,  what  a  tender- 
ness into  the  feelings  of  the  Christian  who  lives  in  faith.  All 
*  Hebrews,  xii.  18-35.  f  Hebrews,  vi,  4,  5. 


REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM.  287 

means  of  grace  in  the  Church  and  the  Gospel  are  received, 
realized,  and  applied  in  a  way  that  seems  almost  miraculous  to 
the  baptized  man  who  had  before  been  rebellious  or  even 
merely  careless  and  unthinking.  So  wonderful,  indeed,  is  this 
new  life  of  faith,  that  many  have  been  led  away  to  dwell  upon 
the  emotions  that  come  from  it,  as  if  these,  of  themselves, 
were  the  blessings,  instead  of  being  the  consequences  of  the 
blessing. 

Need  we  doubt  that  this  state  of  living  faith,  in  the  regen- 
erate man,  opens  the  soul  to  the  unseen ;  that  it  renders  it 
more  sensitive  to  the  influences  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  and  the 
rays  of  spiritual  light  that  proceed  from  the  Son  of  God? 
Surely,  upon  the  man  whose  faith  is  so  awake  and  alive,  all  the 
spiritual  blessings  of  the  Church  of  God,  wherein  he  is,  pour 
down,  unimpeded  and  unclouded.  In  him  the  life  of  Christ 
grows  and  increases, — it  is  fed  by  all  the  means  of  grace  whereby 
God  lias  intended  that  it  should  be  nourished.  He  places  no 
obstacle,  no  bar,  against  their  entrance ;  but  opens  his  soul  by 
faith,  and  receives  all  the  influences  wherewith  God  surrounds 
him. 

And,  therefore,  it  is  that,  everywhere  through  the  New 
Testament,  the  preaching  of  the  doctrine  of  faith  is  so  frequent, 
so  emphatic,  so  urgent.  Faith,  first,  as  the  qualification  for 
the  New  Birth,  for  entrance  within  the  Church  of  Christ ;  and 
then,  to  the  sons  of  God,  faith  again  and  again,  faith  ever- 
more, as  the  eye  that  discerns,  as  the  hand  that  receives  all  the 
spiritual  blessings  with  which  the  Church  of  God — the  sphere 
of  the  spiritual  life,  the  new  world  wherein  the  baptized  man 
upon  the  earth  has  his  citizenship — is  so  overflowingly  full. 

We  have  stated  how  often  the  words  "  sin  "  and  the  "  law  " 
occur  in  the  New  Testament ;  this  word,  "faith,"  is  far  more 
numerous.  Five  hundred  and  seventy-three  times  it  is  found 
in  its  various  forms,  although  the  impression  of  its  frequency 
made  in  the  English  translation  is  not  so  great  as  it  is  in  the 
original  Greek ;  in  fact,  is  cut  in  two.  We  have  for  it,  un- 
fortunately, two  words  in  our  version,  the  substantive  "  faith," 


288  REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM. 

having  one  root,  being  derived  from  Norman-French  ;  and  the 
verb  "to  believe,"  coming  from  the  Anglo-Saxon,  In  the 
Greek  original  there  is  but  one  root  and  one  word.  The 
impression  of  its  frequency,  therefore,  for  us  who  read  the 
!N^ew  Testament  in  the  English  language,  is  more  or  less 
diminished  in  weight. 

The  Christian  man  has,  on  condition  of  his  faith,  certain 
blessings,  because  the  Church  of  Christ  our  Lord  is  a  reality 
upon  the  earth,  and  because  our  Lord  has  arisen.  For  we  be- 
lieve not  in  a  dead  Christ,  but  in  one  that  lives  and  reigns.  We 
believe  in  a  Christ  that  has  died,  but  also  that  has  arisen,  and 
is  alive  now  for  us.  God-man,  raised  up  from  the  dead,  He  has 
ascended  into  heaven,  and  reigns  as  our  King :  the  Church  visi- 
ble on  earth  is  His  kingdom.  An  ever-living  High  Priest  he  is, 
and  ever  makes  atonement,  offers  up  to  the  Father  His  own  sac- 
rifice, perpetually  for  us.  A  Prophet  He  is  also,  and  the  Spirit 
that  spake  in  the  old  prophets ;  His  Spirit  perpetually  flows 
forth  from  Him  in  His  Church  to  those  that  believe.  See,  then, 
the  blessings  of  the  man  baptized  in  the  Church  of  God,  if,  with 
a  willing  soul,  he  abides  in  faith.  All  the  blessings  of  our 
Lord's  sovereignty — His  priesthood.  His  prophetic  office — flow 
down  from  heaven  upon  the  man.  The  want  of  a  willing  and 
a  conscious  faith  is  the  only  bar  that  shuts  up  the  soul  against 
these  radiations  of  grace  and  glory.  More  than  this  it  does, — it 
puts  the  man  in  the  position  of  a  disobedient  son  to  be  scourged ; 
it  may  be,  of  a  rebel,  or  a  traitor,  to  be  subdued  and  overthrown, 
until  he  feels  his  wretchedness,  and  seeks  for  mercy  and  for- 
giveness. 

But  for  the  man  who  is  within  the  kingdom  of  Christ  upon 
earth,  and  who  has  a  living  faith, — and  the  test  of  that  faith,  in 
the  Scriptures,  is  love  to  God  and  man, — to  that  man  all  things 
work  together,  practically  and  perpetually,  for  his  good.  For 
him  the  God-man  reigns,  omnipotent,  omniscient,  upon  the 
throne  of  heaven.  For  him  that  Almighty  power  is  pledged, 
so  that  all  the  circumstances  that  surround  him,  each  influence 
that  reaches  him  from  without,  personal  or  impersonal,  whether 


REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM.  289 

intended  for  good  or  for  evil,  shall  be  directed  and  guided  for  his 
good.  The  heaven  above  him,  the  earth  beneath,  daylight  and 
darkness,  summer  and  winter,  the  falling  rain  and  the  glitter- 
ing sunshine, — all  are  made  to  the  Christian  man  who  lives  in 
faith,  consciously  and  willingly,  means  and  powers  that  perpetu- 
ally influence  him  for  good,  perpetually  send  him  onward  upon 
his  path,  perpetually  ripen  him  for  heaven. 

Nay,  those  things  that  seem  accidents  and  misfortunes,  these 
to  him,  on  that  one  condition,  are  blessings, — often,  even  in  the 
course  of  this  life,  interpreted  and  made  plain.  But,  then,  cer- 
tainly understood  at  last,  when  we  have  reached  our  haven, 
when  we  stand  upon  the  mountain,  and  look  back  over  our 
past  career, — then  shall  we  see  all  things  that  happened  unto 
us,  and  the  reason  that  was  in  our  Saviour's  wisdom  and  mercy, 
and  in  ourselves  for  them  all.  We  shall  see  then,  how,  by  be- 
ing brought  within  the  kingdom  of  Christ,  and  by  giving  an 
implicit  faith  to  our  Lord,  we  established  for  ourselves. an  un- 
seen guidance,  an  infallible  pilotage,  that  has  directed  us  on- 
ward, throughout  our  life,  toward  the  haven  that  we  at  length 
have  reached  ;  that  the  omnipotence  and  omniscience  of  our 
Blessed  Lord  have  been  employed  for  us,  so  that  all  events  in 
our  life  have  been  controlled  for  our  good.  Not,  it  may  be,  for 
our  good  in  the  world  ;  not  for  that  which  we  ourselves  thought 
the  best ;  but  for  the  final  and  consummate  good  of  the  immor- 
tal soiil  and  the  ever-living  body,  then  made  perfect  on  the 
morning  of  the  resurrection,  at  the  day  of  judgment. 

This  gift  is  given  to  each  baptized  man  upon  the  earth,  each 
moment  of  his  existence,  upon  the  one  condition  of  a  living 
and  justifying  faith.  No  age,  no  sex,  interferes  with  this  priv- 
ilege ;  no  state  or  condition  ;  no  region,  from  frozen  Greenland 
to  the  sweltering  basins  of  torrid  Africa.  The  Hindoo  and  the 
brutal  Feejeean  or  Papuan,  the  cultivated  European  and  the 
fierce  Malay,  the  Chinese,  the  Persian,  the  Arab,  the  Toorkoman, 
— in  every  nation  and  in  every  land,  God's  Holy  Catholic  and 
Apostolic  Church  can  exist,  is  intended  to  exist.  And,  every- 
where, to  each  one  within  its  fold,  male  and  female,  poor  and  rich, 
19 


290  REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM. 

in  tlie  palace  or  the  dungeon,  or  on  the  dying  bed,  the  promise  is 
the  same.  "  All  things  work  together  for  good  to  them  that 
love  Him,  that  are  the  called  according  to  His  will." 

And,  furthermore,  to  us,  baptized  in  the  Church  of  Christ, 
He  is  more  than  our  King.  Great  and  glorious  although  that 
Royalty  be  to  us,  the  Church  is  more  than  His  kingdom  on 
the  earth,  we  are  more  than  subjects.  We  know  that  sin  is 
born  with  us, — it  is  the  infection  of  our  nature  as  we  come  into 
the  world.  At  our  baptism,  our  sins  are  all  forgiven,  and  the 
new  life  is  implanted  in  us,  henceforth  to  struggle  with,  and 
finally  to  conquer,  in  those  who  are  saved,  the  mortal  disease 
which  is  within.  But  this  disease  is  not  comj)letely  healed,  or 
cast  out,  until  the  consummation  of  all  things.  The  liability 
to  sin  is  still  in  the  sons  of  God,  during  their  life  in  this  world. 
The  elect  may  fall  away  and  rise  again,  like  Peter.  They 
may  fall  finally  and  perish,  as  was  the  case  with  Judas.  The 
Spirit  may  be  quenched, — the  life  of  Christ  in  us  may  be  ob- 
structed, or  finally  extinguished.  But,  if  this  takes  place,  it 
tallies  place  by  the  man's  own  free  will,  yielding  to  tempta- 
tion, against  light  and  knowledge,  against  the  will  of  God, 
against  the  influences  of  the  Spirit,  against  the  love  of  the 
Son  to  us. 

We,  therefore,  although  regenerate,  are  still  liable  to  tempta- 
tion and  to  sin,  in  fact  and  in  truth.  Less  and  less,  however,  its 
influence  becomes,  in  proportion  to  our  growth  in  Christ, — that 
is,  to  our  own  obedience  to  the  Law  of  God,  and  to  our  habitual 
and  persistent  faith.  For,  if  we  abide  in  faith,  it  produces  in 
our  conscience  more  capacity  of  obedience  to  God's  law  in 
our  hearts,  more  love  to  our  fellow-men  and  to  God,  more 
Christian  works  and  Christian  principle  in  our  lives,  in  the 
sphere  wherein  God  has  placed  us.  And,  therefore,  the  in- 
ward life  by  these  habits  acquires  a  constantly  increasing  pre- 
dominance, a  perpetually  growing  power  over  the  inbred 
disease  of  original  sin ;  and  the  power  of  temptation  upon  us 
becomes  less  and  less.  And  thus,  from  a  babe  new  born  in 
Christ,  the  regenerated  person  grows  up  by  actual  faith  to  the 


REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM.  291 

strength  and  stature  of  tlie  full-ofrown  man  in  Christ  Jesns. 
Such  are  the  results  of  an  habitual  faith. 

But  this  is  not  effected  by  mere  faith,  but  by  faith  that  per- 
ceives and  receives  all  the  benefits  of  the  priesthood  of  our 
Lord  in  heaven,  as  against  sin,  and  against  temptation.  For 
when  the  God-man  ascended  into  heaven,  He  ascended  with 
the  same  body  which  He  took  of  the  Yirgin,  but  glorified  and 
made  perfect.  The  two  natures — the  Godhead  and  the  Man- 
hood— were  indefeasibly  and  eternally  joined  together.  The 
humanity  wherein  He  suffered  for  our  sins  is  now  in  Heaven 
in  union  with  the  divinity  of  the  "Word,  in  the  one  person  of 
our  Lord.  The  sacrifice  was  completed  npon  Calvary.  But 
when  He  rose  into  heaven,  He  passed  with  the  merits  of  that 
sacrifice  into  the  Holy  of  Holies,  to  make  atonement  for  His 
Church,  until  the  end  of  the  world.  There,  in  the  highest 
heaven, — in  the  most  sacred  presence-chamber  of  the  Father, 
in  the  Holy  of  Holies, — there  He  is,  our  Priest  made  perfect 
forever,  presenting  unto  God  His  sacrifice  for  us,  forever 
making  atonement  for  our  sins.  "  If  any  man  sin,  we  have 
an  advocate  with  the  Father,  Jesus  Christ,  the  righteous :  and 
He  is  the  propitiation  for  our  sins."  *  The  Living  Christ,  He 
is  our  Priest  perpetually,  noio  ofifering  up  His  atonement  for 
us,  now  sending  down  from  the  mercy-seat  all  the  benefits  of 
His  priesthood,  by  His  Holy  Spirit,  upon  each  man  in  the 
Church,  who  has  in  Him  a  living  faith.  This  is  the  doctrine 
of  the  Church  in  regard  to  the  pei-petual  priesthood  of  our 
Lord. 

See  how  grand  it  is !  It  is  not  that  over  eighteen  hundred 
years  ago  in  time,  six  or  seven  thousand  miles  away  from  us 
in  space,  the  sacrifice  and  atonement  were  oft'ered  and  con- 
summated, and  then  ceased  to  be  ;  and  that  henceforth  for  man 
there  is  nothing  done, — nothing  henceforth  for  man  to  do,  but 
to  fix  his  faith  as  well  as  he  can,  here,  in  the  present,  upon  that 
past  and  ended  work,  and  thus  be  saved. 

These  facts  are  true,  but  they  are  not  all  the  truth.     They 

*  I.  Jolin,  ii.  1,3. 


292  REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM. 

give  not  the  full  plan  of  salvation,  only  a  small  part  of  it, — two 
or  three  limbs  torn  from  the  body  of  the  faith.  The  Church 
of  Christ  upon  earth,  the  perpetual  priesthood  of  our  ever- 
living  Lord  in  heaven,  the  miraculous  work  upon  earth  of  the 
personal  Spirit,  omnipotent  and  omniscient,  who  overthrows 
for  us  all  obstacles  of  time  and  matter  and  space,  and  makes 
our  prayers  of  faith  instantly  present  with  our  Priest  before 
God's  throne,  and  as  instantly  confers  upon  us,  by  His  pre- 
vailing intercession,  all  the  blessings  for  which  He  petitions  the 
Father  in  our  behalf, — all  these  facts  now,  at  this  time,  exist 
for  us,  if  we  are  within  His  covenant,  and  endowed  with  a 
living  faith ;  these,  also,  are  necessary  parts  of  the  plan  of 
salvation.  It  is  not  in  a  dead  Christ  that  we  believe,  but  in 
one  that  liveth ;  not  in  a  sacrifice  that  is  past  and  gone,  but  in 
one  which,  being  consummated  upon  Calvary,  is  perpetually 
offered  up  for  us  as  an  atonement  in  heaven,  and  is  perpetu- 
ally applied  to  us  by  the  Spirit  upon  earth.  "  This  man, 
hecause  He  continueth  for  ever,  hath  an  unchangeable  priesthood. 
Wherefore  He  is  able  also  to  save  them  to  the  uttermost  that 
come  unto  God  by  Him,  seeing  He  ever  liveth  to  make  inter- 
cession for  them,.''''  * 

God  forbid  that  we  should  be  understood  to  speak  in  any 
way  against  the  great  truths  of  the  atonement  and  sacrifice  of 
our  Blessed  Lord,  by  which  alone  we  are  saved  from  our  sins ! 
God  forbid  that  we  should  in  any  way  depreciate  the  act  of  a 
true  and  living  faith  within  or  without  the  Church  !  Yet,  do 
we  think  that  the  mass  of  orthodox  Christians,  as  they  are 
called,  do  at  this  day  mutilate  the  Gospel  of  Christ,  when  they 
actually  deny  the  existence  of  the  Church  of  God,  and  thereby 
ignore  the  great  truths  of  the  perpetual  priesthood  of  our  Lord 
in  heaven,  that  "  He  appeareth  now  in  the  presence  of  God  for 
us."  t  Have  not  these  portions  of  the  work  of  Christ  been 
almost  forgotten  ?  Have  not  men  so  exaggerated  their  own 
personal  faith,  and  dwelt  so  much  and  so  fondly  upon  it,  that 
these  great  facts  have  passed  away  from  their  thought  and 
*  Hebrews,  vii.  24,  25.  f  Hebrews,  ix.  24. 


REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM.  293 

knowledge  ?  We  think  tliat  it  is  so,  by  our  own  experience  of 
the  Christian  world. 

We  would  call  our  readers'  attention,  then,  more  fully  to 
these  facts  and  ideas, — we  would  wish  them  to  realize  their 
grandeur  and  sublimity.  Let  us,  then,  with  this  intent,  look 
at  the  public  worship  of  the  people  of  God  under  the  Mosaic 
Dispensation.  In  the  Tabernacle  made  by  Moses,  "  after  the 
pattern  shown  him  in  the  Mount,"  there  was,  first,  the  Sanctu- 
ary or  Holy  Place ;  then,  separated  from  it  by  the  veil,  was 
the  Most  Holy  Place,  the  Holy  of  Holies.  In  the  Sanctuary 
were  the  seven-branched  candlestick  of  gold, — the  type  of  the 
Holy  Spirit  and  His  sevenfold  gifts — the  Table  of  Shew-bread, 
and  the  Altar  of  Incense.  Within  the  Most  Holy  Place  was 
the  Mercy  Seat,  between  the  Cherubim  of  Glory  ;  and,  there- 
upon, the  Shekinah  rested, — the  luminous  nimbus  of  bright 
light  which  indicated  the  presence  of  God,  and  filled  the 
House  with  glory.  Now,  no  one  entered  within  that  chamber, 
save  once  a  year  the  High  Priest,  with  the  Golden  Censer  in 
his  hand,  and  with  the  blood  of  the  atonement  for  the  people 
and  for  himself.  The  blood  he  sprinkled  upon  the  Mercy 
Seat  and  before  the  Altar ;  the  Golden  Censer  he  filled  with 
live  coals  from  the  Altar  of  Atonement,  and,  placing  incense 
upon  them,  burned  it  before  the  Lord. 

See  how  this  pretypified  our  Lord  and  His  whole  work  for 
us.  The  Church  upon  earth  is  the  Holy  Place.  The  High 
Priest  is  Christ  our  Lord.  He  is  gone  within  the  veil  that 
divides  the  Holy  from  the  Most  Holy  Place, — the  Church  on 
earth  from  the  Church  in  heaven.  There  He  presents  His 
sacrifice  in  heaven  before  the  Mercy  Seat,  and  incense  from 
the  Golden  Censer,  "  which  is  the  prayers  of  the  Saints."  He 
is  our  ever-present  Priest,  although  unseen,  within  the  veil. 
We  are  His  people, — a  Royal  Priesthood,  the  Holy  nation  ("  He 
hath  made  us  priests  and  kings  unto  God,  even  His  Father,") — 
within  His  Holy  Place  on  earth,  the  Church  of  God.  How 
grand  is  this  idea,  which  declares  the  oneness  of  the  Church  on 
earth  with  the  Church  in  heaven,  which  brings  the  Christian 


294  REGENERATION  IN  BAPTIS3I. 

man  before  an  ever-present  Advocate  and  High  Priest,  which, 
places  him  before  the  veil  that  divides  time  from  eternity ; 
and  says  to  him,  "  Have  faith, — in  heaven  thy  prayers  are 
offered  up  by  Him  before  God's  throne.  For  thee  the  atone- 
ment now  is  made.  He  is  thy  Priest  that  ever  liveth  to  make 
intercession  for  thee.  Only  a  veil  divides  thee  from  Him." 
How  sad  it  is  that  these  grand  ideas,  so  plainly  taught  in  Holy 
Writ,  should  fall  out  and  perish  from  the  minds  of  the  mass  of 
men  that  profess  and  call  themselves  Christians. 

We  conclude  this  subject,  therefore,  by  saying,  that  to  the 
man  baptized,  in  the  Church  of  God,  all  these  blessings  of  our 
Lord's  Priesthood  are  given  upon  the  one  condition  ot  his  faith. 
By  faith  he  sees  Him  that  is  unseen,  the  Living  Christ.  By  faith 
he  receives  all  the  blessings  of  His  mediation.  By  faith  he  is 
justified,  receiving  from  his  great  High  Priest  remission  of  all 
his  sins,  day  by  day,  and  hour  by  hour,  through  all  the  means  of 
grace.  By  faith  he  waits  before  the  veil,  trusting  not  in  his  own 
merits,  his  own  works,  or  even  in  his  own  faith,  but  in  his  Great 
High  Priest.  This  is  the  Christian's  position  his  whole  life 
long,  and  then  the  veil  is  taken  away,  the  thin  film  of  mortal 
vision  drops  from  the  immortal  eye, — this  life  is  at  an  end, 
eternity  is  open,  and  we  see  Him  face  to  face.  Such  are  the 
blessings  of  the  Priesthood  of  our  Lord  to  the  baptized  man 
who  has  a  living  faith. 

We  come,  lastly,  to  the  prophetic  ofiice  of  our  Lord,  and 
its  relation  to  the  faithful  in  the  Church  of  Christ.  And  in 
this  we  have  indications  of  a  most  wonderful  work  for  us, 
half  seen.  We  know  that  we  are  in  a  twilight  world.  If  we 
see  a  step  or  two  before  us,  it  is  the  most  that  we  can  do.  In 
it  the  changes  from  happiness  to  misery,  from  good  to  evil,  are 
most  rapid  and  perplexing.  Man  must  go  onward  upon  his 
path,  he  must  act ;  yet  it  does  seem,  sometimes,  as  if  mere 
chance  swayed  the  course  of  events,  as  if  bold  presumption 
were  more  successful  than  forethought  or  knowledge.  Then, 
again,  unvarying  luck,  as  it  is  called,  or  ill  luck,  suggests  the 
idea,  so  popular  with  the  multitude,  of  chance,  or  of  mere  fate. 


REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM.  295 

Power,  not  proceeding  from  ourselves;  events,  originating 
far  away,  npon  whose  sources  and  causes  we  have  had  no  guid- 
ance ;  influences,  from  heaven  above,  from  the  earth  beneath, 
striking  upon  our  senses,  moving  our  minds,  disturbing, 
exciting,  agitating  us,  through  our  bodily  organizations  :  how 
shall  man  be  led  by  reason?  how  shall  he  have  wisdom  to 
guide  himself  aright  when  he  is  the  focus,  the  centre  of  such 
a  concurrence  of  powers,  material  and  mental,  known  and 
unknown,  over  whose  origination  and  action  he  has  no  control? 
Launch  a  vessel  on  a  torrent  river  filled  with  rocks  and  eddies 
and  rapids ;  place  at  the  helm  a  pilot  who  is  purblind, — and 
you  have  a  faint  image  and  similitude  of  man  guiding  his 
course  of  life  by  his  own  reason  in  this  world,  apart  from 
God. 

Yes  !  there  are  but  few,  even  of  the  most  abandoned  and  the 
most  hardened,  that  can  stand  face  to  face  with  the  world  of 
actual  life,  and  clearly,  in  the  depths  of  their  own  hearts,  say 
that  there  is  no  God.  To  the  mass  of  men,  the  current  of  outer 
events  and  facts  and  circumstances  which  so  incessantly  strikes 
upon  us  and  modifies  our  course  at  each  moment  of  our 
existence,  irresistibly  suggests  the  direct  action  through  them 
of  a  personal  being,  omnipotent  and  omniscient,  who  under- 
stands and  controls  them  all,  that  is,  of  God.  This  is  the 
thought  of  all  thoughtful  men,  at  all  times,  under  all  climates. 
It  is  only  the  "  fool  that  hath  said  in  his  heart.  There  is  no 
God." 

Under  these  circumstances,  what  does  the  Christian  need  ? 
Existing,  as  he  does,  in  such  a  tumultuous  and  darkling  world ; 
wrought  upon,  as  he  is,  by  the  fact  that  he  is  a  man,  by  so  many 
powers  alien  to  his  being,  liable  to  so  many  temptations, 
bound  to  a  haven  that  lies  so  far  away,  set  upon  a  course 
shrouded  in  clouds,  which  his  sight  can  but  feebly  penetrate, — 
what  does  he  need  ?  A  guidance,  plainly,  that  is  not  his  own  ; 
a  wisdom  that  comes  not  from  himself ;  a  supporting  power 
which  he  cannot  obtain  from  nature  or  himself.  All  this  he 
has  from  Christ  assured  to  him,  and  given  on  condition  of  his 


296  REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM. 

faith.     All   this  is   promised  in  the  Kew  Testament   to  the 
Christian  in  the  Church  of  God. 

Eead  through  the  Epistles  of  St.  Paul  and  the  other  apostles, 
with  the  fact  upon  your  mind  that  they  were  written  to  baptized 
men.  The  man  of  most  experience  in  the  world  has  no  keener 
sense  of  the  dangers  of  life  than  is  manifested  by  these  writers, 
and  of  the  resources  of  wisdom  required  to  meet  them.  And 
nothing  can  surpass,  in  weight  of  conviction,  and  in  deep 
earnestness  of  feeling,  the  solemnity  with  which  they  promise 
to  all  Christian  men  the  wisdom  sufficient  to  guide  them  to  the 
end,  on  the  one  condition  •of  their  faith.  For  this  is,  in  the 
theology  of  the  Scriptures,  and  the  primitive  Church,  the  third 
point  of  the  present  work  of  our  ascended  Lord, — that  the  God- 
man,  clothed  with  omniscience,  is  the  prophet  of  the  whole 
Church,  and  of  every  member  thereof.  In  whatsoever  condi- 
tion of  life,  of  health,  or  of  circumstances  the  baptized  man 
may  be,  only  let  him  seek  from  our  Lord,  in  faith,  the  wis- 
dom he  requires,  and  it  shall  be  given  to  him.  "  If  any  of 
you  lack  wisdom,  let  him  ask  of  God,  that  giveth  to  all  liber- 
ally, and  upbi'aideth  not ;  and  it  shall  be  given  him.  But  let 
him  ask  in  faith,  nothing  doubting."  * 

We  see,  then,  how  this  great  need  is  satisfied,  this  promise 
to  us  is  fulfilled.  With  wisdom  from  on  high,  from  the  Word 
incarnate  and  His  Spirit,  each  regenerate  man  is  fully  provided 
by  his  regeneration,  if  he  will  only  open  his  soul  by  a  true 
faith  to  the  gift  that  is  given  him. 

In  fact,  look  at  man's  state  of  perplexity,  and  the  uncer- 
tainty in  which  he  is  by  nature, — see  the  need  that  he  has  for 
guidance, — and  the  Christian  doctrine  and  fact  of  the  Holy 
Spirit  is  the  supply  of  all  those  needs,  the  solution  for  all  these 
doubts.  Look,  again,  at  the  cold,  deistic  doctrine  of  a  mere 
maker  of  the  world,  a  being  who  so  far  as  they  describe  him, 
only  creates,  his  sole  attributes  being  power — who  may,  there- 
fore, as  far  as  they  know,  be  good  or  evil — and  then  compare 
with  it  the  Christian  doctrine  of  the  Third  Person  of  the  Holy 
*  St.  James,  i.  5,  6. 


REGENERATIOrr  IN  BAPTISM.  297 

Trinity,  and  see  how  tliis  last,  fully  preached  and  fully  under- 
stood, comes  home  to  onr  hearts.  A  Personal  Spirit,  omni- 
scient and  omnipotent,  the  Spirit  of  the  Father  and  the  Son, 
coming  forth  to  the  spirits  of  all  men  upon  the  earth, — the 
Spirit  of  God,  to  each  spirit  of  man,  with  prevenient  grace, 
calling  all  men  to  repentance  for  sin,  and  to  faith  in  God, 
through  Christ.  That  Spirit,  again,  by  His  power  in  holy 
baptism,  conferring  remission  of  all  sins,  planting  in  the  man 
the  life  of  Christ,  bringing  him  within  the  fold  of  the  Church. 
And  the  same  omniscient  Spirit,  giving  their  commission  to 
the  ministry  of  Christ,  aiding  them  and  guiding  them  in  their 
dealings  with  man  on  behalf  of  God.  The  same  Spirit  mak- 
ing even  material  things  means  of  His  grace  to  those  who  have 
faith  to  believe, — :as  we  have  shown  in  the  essays  upon  the 
doctrine  and  rationale  of  sacraments.  And  then,  again,  the 
Spirit,  from  age  to  age,  inspiring  the  prophets  and  apostles, 
and,  from  their  illumined  intellect,  producing  the  Scriptures 
of  the  Old  and  New  Testaments,  until,  in  His  Church,  we  have 
the  completed  volume  of  inspiration,  a  treasure  of  infinite  value 
to  the  whole  earth.  The  Eastern  Church  looked  upon  the 
Holy  Ghost  as  especially  the  Spirit  of  Life,  "  the  Lord  and  the 
Life-giver," — the  "Western,  as  the  Spirit  of  Grace,  giving  freely 
according  to  His  will,  the  influences  that  enable  us  to  obey 
God,  and  that  set  us  free  from  sin.  And  both  views  are  true 
of  Him.  But,  what  a  gift  this  is  ! — that  the  Spirit  of  Christ 
should  dwell  and  abide  in  the  Church, — that  He  should  dwell 
in  the  regenerated  man, — that,  as  the  Spirit  of  Life,  the  Spirit 
of  Grace,  the  Spirit  of  Wisdom,  He  should  be  ever  pres- 
ent in  their  souls,  unto  all  who,  being  within  the  Church  of 
Christ,  open  their  hearts  to  His  influences  by  their  living  and 
willing  faith. 

Hence,  especially  is  our  Lord  in  heaven  our  Gi'eat  Prophet, 
since  from  Him  proceeds  to  His  believing  people  upon  earth, 
in  manifold  ways,  and  with  manifold  gifts,  the  Spirit  of  God. 
He  it  is  who  awakes  in  us  the  desire,  and  gives  us  the  power,  to 
pray.     He  commends  our  prayers  to  our  Lord  in  heaven.     He 


298  REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM. 

warns  iis  of  the  approacli  of  evil.  He  gives  us  strength  to  re- 
sist temptation.  He  arouses  us  when  we  shimber.  He  pours 
into  our  hearts  consoLition  in  our  sorrow,  comfort  in  our  heavi- 
ness. He  renews  us  to  repentance  and  faith.  Far  away  lies 
the  haven  toward  which  we  are  bound, — the  course  thither  is 
hidden  from  our  eyes ;  by  a  living  faith  in  Christ  we  gain  unto 
ourselves  the  guidance  of  the  omniscient  and  omnipotent  Spirit. 
He  beholds  our  course,  and  leads  us  through  it  in  a  way  that 
is  most  expedient  for  us.  The  wisdom  that  we  have  not  of 
ourselves,  He  gives  us.  The  grace  that  is  needful,  we  have  from 
Him,  from  day  to  day,  to  resist  evil,  to  do  good.  The  life  to 
overcome  the  mortal  wound  of  sin,  to  grow  and  dwell  in  us, 
and  change  us  so  that  at  the  Resurrection  we  shall  stand  as 
full-grown  sons  in  the  image  of  Christ  our  brother,  is  from  Him. 
All  these  gifts  we  have,  here  in  the  Church  upon  earth,  from 
the  Spirit  of  the  Living  Christ,  our  Great  Prophet,  before  the 
throne  of  heaven. 

Such  are  the  blessings  which  we  receive  from  our  Lord  Je- 
sus Christ,  who  ascended  into  heaven,  and  there  reigns  for  us 
as  our  King,  our  High  Priest,  and  our  Prophet, — the  Mediator 
between  God  and  man  until  the  Resurrection. 

We  have  dwelt  on  them  the  more  fully,  because  the  com- 
mon religion  hides  them  away,  or  rather  forgets  and  ignores 
them.  It  is  not  that  it  denies  them,  for  they  plainly  lie 
upon  the  very  face  of  Holy  Writ ;  but  that  it  is  so  full  of  its 
own  emotions,  its  own  feelings,  its  own  faith — it  is  so  occu- 
pied with  its  little  paltry  self — that  it  has  no  time  to  lift  up  its 
eyes  to  these  great  objective  truths.  And,  therefore,  they 
make  no  impression  ;  and  instead  of  distinct  ^doctrines  and  solid 
facts,  as  they  really  are,  they  are  taken  to  be  mere  Oriental 
figures  of  speech,  mere  warm,  emotional  phrases,  that  have  no 
reality,  no  facts  that  they  convey  or  signify.  But  to  our  read- 
ers who  have  not  thought  upon  these  matters,  we  say,  open 
the  New  Testament,  and  turn  to  the  Epistles.  All  these  are 
addressed  to  baptized  men  in  the  various  Churches,  to  the  elect, 
that  is,  to  men  who  are  within  the  covenant  of  Christ,  to  the 


REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM.  299 

sons  of  God.  It  is  asserted  everywhere  in  these  Epistles  that 
to  them  these  blessings  are  given  on  condition  of  their  faith, — 
not  to  those  who  are  without. 

For  all  men  are  divided  into  two  great  classes, — those  in  the 
state  of  nature,  and  those  in  the  state  of  grace.  To  the  iirst  we 
preach  repentance  from  dead  works,  and  faith  in  our  Lord  Je- 
sus Christ,  that  they  may  enter  within  His  covenant  by  holy 
baptism,  and  thus  become  sons  of  God  ;  secondly,  there  is 
the  class  of  sons  of  God,  they  who  in  baptism  have  been  made 
members  of  Christ,  children  of  God,  inheritors  of  the  kingdom 
of  heaven. 

And  of  these,  again,  there  are  also  two  classes, — the  rebel- 
lious, and  the  obedient  sons.  The  last  are  those  who  have  a 
living  faith,  and  thus  are  justified.  To  them  the  full  blessings 
of  the  covenant  belong,  for  personal  faith  removes  all  obstacles 
and  bars  in  the  way  of  the  reception  of  God's  grace.  How  God 
deals  with  His  sons  that,  either  through  carelessness  or  w^icked- 
ness,  are  not  justified,  have  no  living  faith,  we  know ;  but  less 
distinctly,  then,  we  understand  the  privileges  of  those  M'ho,  by 
their  living  faith,  are  of  the  "  Communion  of  Saints"  upontlie 
earth. 

Kow,  then,  if  this  be  the  true  representation  of  the  state  of 
man  upon  the  earth,  what  shall  we  do  who,  however  weakly 
and  feebly,  try  to  have  faith  in  God,  who  has  redeemed  us  and 
placed  us  in  His  Church  1  For  ourselves  our  duty  is  plain, — 
the  Church  teaches  it  through  the  whole  year,  by  her  liturgies, 
by  her  ministry,  by  the  Scriptures  which  she  reads  in  our  ears 
and  places  in  our  hands.  As  regards  those  outside  the  cove- 
nant, our  duty,  both  clergy  and  laity,  is  to  be  filled  for  them 
with  a  holy  fear,  a  sacred  compassion  for  their  state  as  lying  out- 
side of  the  covenant  of  God,  which  is  proffered  to  man,  through 
Christ  our  Lord  ;  and  by  our  life,  by  our  words,  by  our  prayers, 
by  our  personal  entreaties  and  influence,  to  move  them  to 
repentance  for  sins,  to  faith  in  our  Redeemer,  and  to  baptism 
into  His  Church.  For  the  full  and  complete  recognition  and 
confession  of  Christ,  is  that  alone  which  places  man  upon  the 


300  REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM. 

Rock.  The  faith  by  which  we  are  saved  in  the  highest  degree, 
is  the  faith  that  accepts  Christ  in  His  covenant.  The  "  con- 
fession that  is  made  with  the  mouth  unto  salvation,"  in  the 
fullest  sense,  is  the  confession  that  is  made  before  God  and  man 
in  holy  baptism,  and  continued  on  in  the  same  fulness  through 
life.  This  is  the  great  work  to  be  done  by  us,  for  those  in  the 
state  of  nature,  that  they  be  brought  within  the  state  of  salva- 
tion, the  state  of  grace. 

And,  then,  for  those  within  the  Church  of  Christ,  who  are 
obedient,  see  how  much  each  Christian  man  and  woman  is  bound 
to  do.  See  how  we  are  to  train  our  children  in  the  doctrines 
and  the  faith  of  Holy  Scripture.  See  how  we  are  to  encourage 
one  another  to  persevere.  See  how,  as  members  of  the  one 
great  family,  of  which  Christ  is  the  head,  we  are  to  aid 
and  strengthen  one  another  in  Christian  growth  and  progress. 
For  we  are  not  sons,  at  once,  of  full  stature,  and  incapable  of 
falling  away.  We  are  at  first  children,  new-born  in  Christ. 
The  portion  of  life  which  God  has  in  His  wisdom  allotted  to  us 
in  this  world  after  our  baptism, — this  is  our  term  of  growth,  that 
we  may  increase  and  grow  until  we  reach  the  fulness  of  the 
stature  of  Christ.  We  are  planted  in  the  garden  of  God  upon 
earth,  to  grow  and  bear  fruit  for  heaven.  Perhaps  it  may  be 
only  there  that  the  full  growth  shall  be  seen,  the  full  harvest 
shall  be  reaped.  See  you  not  how  manifold  a  work  the  justified 
Christian  man  or  woman  has  to  do  for  those  who  are  along  with 
him  in  the  household  of  faith  ? 

This  is  a  great  work  for  us  to  do,  even  for  those  in  our 
sphere  of  circumstances  who  are  not  willingly  and  understand- 
ingly  evil.  But  how  great  does  it  become  when  we  have  to 
deal  with  the  sons  of  God  who  are  rebels  to  their  own  con- 
victions and  knowledge,  their  own  vows  and  promises.  We 
consider  this  no  further  than  simply  to  say,  that  every  Chris- 
tian, by  the  fact  that  he  is  a  brother  in  Christ,  is  bound,  as  God 
shall  give  him  the  opportunity,  to  aid  those  who  are  fallen 
away  from  Christ,  by  the  influence  of  his  Christian  example, 
by  actual  personal  remonstrances,  by  his  earnest  and  secret 


REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM.  301 

prayer  for  them.  Mainly  does  this  last  work  rest  upon  the 
clergy,  under  whose  pastoral  care  the  baptized  are.  Still,  if 
private  Christians  in  the  Church,  who  are  brethren  by  baptism, 
knew  how  much  aid  they  might  give,  by  these  means,  to  the 
cause  of  God,  it  would  be  well,  both  for  them  and  for  their 
fallen  brethren — the  sons  of  God — who  are  not  justified. 

One  thing  more  we  must  add.  Fully  as  the  doctrine  of 
regeneration  is  preached  in  Holy  Writ,  distinctly  as  it  is 
declared  to  us  as  a  fact  that  even  in  this  world  we  may  become, 
by  an  actual  and  real  new  birth,  the  sons  of  God,  there  is  a 
higher  state  still  of  that  sonship  after  this  world  is  past. 

"VVe  know  that  when  we  have  been  brought  into  the  Church 
of  God  upon  earth,  we  belong  to  it  always,  to  the  end  of  life. 
No  excommunication  casts  man  out  of  the  Church,  only  out 
of  the  communion  of  the  Church.  No  new  baptism  is  required 
for  the  most  evil  and  abandoned  apostate  after  his  repentance. 
If  he  be  restored,  he  is  restored  as  a  son  that  returns  to  his 
father's  house,  not  as  an  alien.  He  needs  not  another  regener- 
ation, but  reconciliation.  AVe  never  baptize  again  the  fallen 
children  of  the  kingdom,  who  come  back  with  sorrow  to 
the  fold.  Hence,  so  long  as  they  are  upon  the  earth,  so  long 
as  they  live,  hope  is  open  before  them ;  they  are  upon  their 
trial  before  God,  the  Spirit  is  working  upon  them,  the  Son 
is  calling  to  them ;  all  the  influences,  spiritual  and  natural,  of 
the  kingdom  into  which  they  were  introduced,  are  at  work  to 
lead  them  onward  toward  heaven,  to  lift  them  upward  from  the 
pit  into  which  they  have  cast  themselves. 

See  what  a  fountain  of  hope  and  mercy  is  herein,  for  the 
son  who  has  left  his  father's  house,  who  has  gone  into  the  far 
country,  and  hired  himself  to  the  citizen  of  that  foreign  land 
to  feed  swine, — that  he  may  arise  and  go  to  his  Father,  and  say 
to  him  :  "  Father,  I  have  sinned  against  heaven  and  before  Thee, 
and  am  no  more  worthy  to  be  called  Thy  son."  See  what  a 
basis  of  hope  for  the  evil  and  the  abandoned  there  is,  in  the 
doctrine  of  baptism  to  us — the  clergy  and  laity  of  the  Church — 
who  desire  the  salvation  of  souls.     To  those  outside  the  cove- 


302  REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM. 

nant  we  preach  regeneration  and  the  complete  remission  of  all 
sins,  if,  with  sincere  faith  and  sincere  repentance,  they  accept 
Him  in  His  appointed  way.  Then,  again,  to  the  fallen  sons  of 
God,  our  message  is  not  of  despair,  not  of  decrees  of  predesti- 
nation and  reprobation,  but  of  hope,  of  mercy,  of  grace,  that 
they  may  finally  turn  unto  God. 

We  deny  not,  that  to  our  eyes  the  man  may  seem  self-aban- 
doned to  utter  ruin,  plunged  in  the  bottomless  abysses  of  sin, 
gone  beyond  power  of  recovery ;  still,  because  he  is  a  son  of 
God,  within  the  covenant,  and  because  our  eyes  see  not  the 
secret  things  of  man's  heart,  nor  the  secret  method  of  God's 
dealings  with  man,  we  have  no  such  message  for  the  man,  of 
our  own  short-sighted  experience,  our  narrow  knowledge,  and 
presumptuous  argumentation.  Our  message  for  all  such  cases 
is,  "Son  of  God,  arise!  abandon  sin,  struggle  after  the  faith 
that  is  lost,  come  back  to  thy  Father  in  heaven !  For  the  Great 
High  Priest,  the  Prophet  and  the  King — thy  brother  in  human 
nature — is  upon  the  throne,  before  the  altar,  in  the  Holy  of 
Holies,  interceding  also  for  thee !  Only  repent  and  abandon 
sin,  only  have  faith  in  our  Lord,  and  obey  His  laws."  This  is 
the  sole  message  the  Christian  has  from  Christ  his  Saviour  for 
his  fallen  brother,  however  sunk  he  may  be  in  sin. 

We  do  not,  as  we  have  said,  deny  that  to  man  it  may  appear, 
in  certain  cases,  that  men  have  cast  themselves  away  during 
this  life,  that  they  have  built  up  a  wall  between  themselves  and 
the  light,  and  enclosed  themselves,  as  it  were,  in  a  living  tomb. 
Upon  these  grounds  and  notions  of  their  own  narrow  minds 
and  mere  human  experience,  some  have  generalized  and  framed 
a  theology  of  despair  for  living  men,  forgetting  the  moral  object 
of  the  world  as  a  school  of  probation,  forgetting  the  effects  ot 
regeneration,  and  the  value  of  the  Church  of  God  as  a  spiritual 
school  of  trial ;  forgetful,  also,  we  must  say,  of  the  love,  the 
mercy,  the  long-suftering  of  the  Almighty  God,  and  His  Son, 
Jesus  Christ  our  Lord. 

No  !  When  man's  life  closes,  then,  and  not  till  then,  closes 
against  him  the  door  of  hope,  the  possibility  of  repentance 


REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM.  303 

and  restoration.  To  Judas  Iscariot,  to  Barabbas,  to  Simon 
Magus,  no  other  doctrine  is  to  be  preached  than  those  of  ab- 
horrence and  abandonment  of  sin,  and  of  faith  toward  God. 
For  Judas  maybe  conv^erted  ;  Simon  Magus  may  himself*  re- 
pent, and  pray  to  God,  and  receive  forgiveness, — as  long  as  they 
are  living  men  upon  the  earth.  This  is  the  principle  upon 
which  the  Christian  man  must  act,  how  much  soever  difficulty  he 
may  see  in  the  case  before  him  :  inasmuch  as  he  believes  in 
God ;  inasmuch  as  he  believes  in  remission  of  all  their  sins, 
upon  condition  of  a  full  acceptance  of  Christ,  for  all  the  un- 
regencrated;  and  for  all  the  regenerated,  that  their  privileges  as 
sons  cease  not  until  death.  We  do  not  fully  discuss  this  last 
subject,  nor  say  all  we  have  to  say  upon  it.  We  only  lay  it 
before  the  minds  of  our  readers,  and  submit  for  their  acceptance 
the  conclusions  we  have  come  to  from  a  consideration  of  this 
subject  that  has  been  going  on  in  our  mind  for  many  years. 
We  place  this  determination  of  the  question  before  them,  as  the 
one  which  we  feel  to  be  the  most  consistent  with  the  analogies 
of  God's  dealings  with  man ;  with  the  nature  of  the  world 
considered  as  a  state  of  trial,  and  of  the  Church  as  His  kingdom 
on  the  earth  ;  with  the  mercy  of  our  Father  in  heaven,  the  love 
of  His  Son  our  Lord,  and  the  grace  of  the  Spirit ;  with  the 
responsibility  of  man  to  God,  and  the  final  and  consummate 
justice  of  an  Almighty  and  Omniscient  Father  to  all  His 
creatures  at  the  judgment  day. 

One  thing  more  completes  the  discussion  of  this  part  of 
the  subject, — the  relation  it  bears  to  the  resurrection.  Through 
the  whole  of  the  New  Testament  the  Gospel  dispensation  is 
considered  to  be  completed  at  that  day.  The  Church  now  con- 
tains the  evil  as  well  as  the  good,  the  tares  or  poisonous  darnel 
as  well  as  the  wholesome  wheat.  At  the  end  of  the  world  the 
angels  go  forth  and  separate  the  tares  (the  darnel)  from  the 

*  It  is  curious  to  look  at  the  thorough  selfishness  of  Simon  Magus's  reply 
to  St.  Peter's  exhortation  to  repent  of  his  great  wickedness,  and  to  pray  for 
forgiveness  of  his  great  sin.  It  is,  "  Pray  ye  to  the  Lord  for  me,  that  none 
of  these  things  which  ye  have  spoken  come  upon  me."    (Acts,  viii.  34.) 


304  REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM. 

wheat,  and  cast  them  into  the  furnace  of  fire.  It  is  only  at  the 
day  of  judgment  that  the  Church  is  a  "glorious  Chnrch,  not 
having  spot,  or  wrinkle,  or  any  such  thing ;  holy  and  without 
blemish."  *  So  it  is  with  onr  justification.  In  this  life,  by 
the  grace  of  God,  we  have  the  great  blessing  that,  by  a  living 
and  true  faith,  laying  hold  upon  His  death  and  sacrifice,  we  can 
stand  upright,  justified  before  God.  Yet,  after  this,  we  may 
fall  into  condemnation.  But  our  complete  and  perfect  justifi- 
cation is,  then,  when  God  shall  pronounce  us  finally,  irreversibly, 
unchangeably  justified,  tlirough  Christ  our  Redeemer.  Our 
complete  justification  is  at  the  day  of  judgment.  Thus,  also, 
it  is  with  our  regeneration.  We  are  sons  of  God  here  upon 
earth,  truly  and  really.  But  that  sonship  is  not  perfected,  it 
does  not  attain  its  complete  growth  and  consummation,  until 
the  resurrection  day.  Then  are  "  we  children  of  God,  as  being 
the  children  of  the  resurrection."  Then,  from  the  womb  of 
the  earth  we  are  born,  out  of  the  life  of  grace  into  the  life  of 
glory.  Then  the  life  of  Christ  in  us,  which  in  this  world  has 
been  initial,  shall  dwell  in  us  in  full  perfection.  Then  the  im- 
mortal body  changed  into  His  image,  shining  like  the  sun, 
incapable  of  death  or  disease,  filled  with  the  Spirit  of  life, 
shall  stand  perfect  before  the  throne  of  God,  united  with  a  soul 
cleansed  from  all  sin,  and  an  intelligence  made  perfect  in  all  its 
powers  and  fiiculties,  by  God's  Spirit. 

This  is  the  perfect  and  complete  regeneration,  of  which,  in 
this  world,  we  have  only  the  first  fruits.  This  is  that  ultimate  and 
final  change,  completing  all  that  has  been  begun  on  earth  in 
us,  "  the  sons  of  God."  This  is  our  "  manifestation  which  the 
whole  creation  groaneth  and  travaileth  to  behold,"  the  con- 
summation of  all  things,  the  regeneration  of  the  sons  of  God 
completed  in  the  Hesurrection,  through  Jesus  Christ  our  Lord. 
The  flaw  and  disease  which  fell  upon  man,  and  the  whole 
world,  through  the  sin  of  Adam,  in  them  is  healed.  And  the 
"  sons  of  God,  being  the  sons  of  the  Resurrection,"  then  fully 
and  finally  endowed  with  all  the  blessings  obtained  for  them 
*Epliesians    v.  27. 


REGENERATION  IN  BAPTIS3I.  305 

by  their  Redeemer,  standing  upon  the  new  earth,  sheltered  by 
the  new  heavens,  shall  be  like  Him,  for  as  He  is,  so  shall  they 
be  also."  This  is  the  completion  of  the  regeneration  received 
by  the  Christian  man  in  this  world,  the  full  perfection  and 
heavenly  ripeness  and  maturity  of  the  life  which  he  receives 
in  his  baptism  by  faith  upon  the  earth. 
20 


CHAPTER  XI. 

Our  readers  have  seen,  in  various  parts  of  this  work,  how 
the  denial  or  the  misunderstanding  of  various  other  doctrines 
has  led  to  the  denial  of  this  doctrine  of  baptismal  regeneration. 
If  men  assert  that  there  is  no  such  thing  really  in  existence  as 
a  Church  of  Christ,  they  cannot  believe  in  a  doctrine  which 
makes  admission  within  it  of  preeminently  great  importance. 
If  they  deny  the  Divinity  of  Christ,  and  think  Him  to  be  a 
mere  man  who  is  dead,  as  other  men  are  dead,  they  cannot 
comprehend  how  from  Him  a  spiritual,  supernatural  life  can 
now  proceed.  If  they  deny  the  divinity  and  personality  of 
the  Holy  Ghost,  they  cannot  conceive  any  spiritual  regener- 
ation effected  by  His  present  power.  If  their  doctrine  be  that 
sacraments  are  nothing,  of  course,  to  them,  it  is  an  absurdity 
that  anything  real  should  take  place  in  the  sacrament  of  bap- 
tism. Looking  over  all  these  things,  we  have  at  once  the  strange 
facts  accounted  for,  that  men  deny  this  doctrine  against  the 
manifest  words  and  manifest  sense  of  Holy  Writ.  l!^ay,  we 
see  how  they  deny  the  doctrine  before  they  discuss  it,  even 
before  they  hear  it  stated.  The  doctrine  itself,  as  we  have 
said,  rests  upon  an  accumulation  of  doctrines ;  it  is,  itself,  the 
crowning-stone  of  the  Christian  pyramid.  The  doctrine  of 
regeneration  is  the  last  link,  nearest  to  man,  in  the  chain  of 
Divine  truth,  that  fastens  humanity  to  the  throne  of  the  Father, 
as  the  divinity  of  Christ  our  Lord  is  the  first  link,  nearest  unto 
God.  Deny  any  one  of  these,  its  supporting  and  connecting 
doctrines,  and  the  negation  is  felt  in  it, — it  must  be  denied. 

We,   therefore,   who   hold  it,   are   subjected  to  a   multi- 
tude of  prejudices,   a  multitude  of  difliculties,  if  we  present 


REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM.  307 

this  great  truth  of  the  Gospel  system  as  an  isolated  doc- 
trine, standing  alone.  If  we  believe  in  it,  we  believe  be- 
cause it  is  in  the  Bible,  and  it  is,  also,  the  inevitable  logical 
consequence,  the  result  and  completion  of  many  other  evan- 
gelical doctrines.  If  those  outside  deny  it,  it  is  because  they 
have  first  denied  one  or  more  of  these.  In  order  to  avoid 
these  difiiculties,  and  to  have  the  advantage  of  presenting  to 
our  readers  the  doctrine  which  we  advocate,  in  its  systematic 
connection  w^ith  other  doctrines,  we  present  them  with  a  syn- 
opsis of  connected  Scriptural  truths,  which  we  term  the  Gospel 
System.  We  lay  it  before  them  as  agreeing,  in  spirit  and  in 
letter,  with  our  Book  of  Common  Prayer.  And  this,  again, 
we  consider,  in  its  doctrine  and  in  its  practice,  to  represent  the 
purest  practice  of  the  Church  in  the  purest  ages.  We  ask  our 
readers,  then,  w^itli  the  Bible  and  the  Prayer  Book  in  their 
hands,  to  examine  this  system  which  we  lay  before  them,  and 
the  Scriptural  proofs  which  we  have  alleged  and  expounded, — 
and  thus,  we  think,  they  will  see,  in  the  system  of  regeneration 
as  held  in  the  Church,  a  harmony  with  all  the  doctrines  of  the 
Gospel,  a  beauty  in  the  waj-  it  applies  to  all  the  problems  of 
human  life,  surpassing  all  the  philosophies,  both  ancient  and 
modern,  and,  above  all,  a  consummate  depth  of  wisdom,  an 
intense  practical  spirit,  which,  in  the  same  words,  can  teach, 
catechetically,  a  child,  and  satisfy  the  inquiries  of  a  sage. 

THE  GOSPEL  SYSTEM. 

I.  Man,  as  originally  created  by  God,  was  a  perfect  being, 
sinless  and  immortal,  dwelling  in  a  perfect  world.  He  was 
made  in  the  image  of  God.  He  was  full  of  spiritual  life.  The 
law  of  God  was  written  in  his  heart.  From  the  Father,  the 
Son,  and  the  Holy  Ghost,  there  flowed  upon  him,  freely,  gifts 
and  graces  and  endowments,  transcending  nature,  truly  super- 
natural, coming  from  the  spiritual  world.  By  the  temptation 
of  Satan,  and  the  act  of  his  own  free  will,  man  fell.  There- 
upon he  suffered  a  threefold  loss.  His  whole  being,  in  all  its 
constituent  parts  and  faculties,  became  depraved  and  diseased 


308  REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM. 

by  sin.  He  was  cast  out  of  Paradise.  He  lo?t  his  right  and 
title  to  the  gifts  of  his  first  estate.  A  son  of  God  wounded 
mortally,  exiled  from  his  Fathek's  House,  amerced  of  his 
inheritance, — tliis  became  from  that  time  his  state,  and  that  of 
all  men  naturally  engendered  of  the  offspring  of  Adam. 

II.  By  nature,  therefore,  all  men  as  born  into  the  world  are 
dead  in  sin ;  cast  out  from  Paradise,  under  condemnation  of 
the  Law ;  unable  by  their  own  power  to  restore  themselves. 

III.  They  need,  therefore,  1st,  Deliverance  from  the  con- 
demnation of  sin,  and  its  dominion ;  2d,  A  new  spiritual  life 
from  heaven  to  dwell  in  them,  and  heal  them;  3rd,  The 
existence,  and  continuance  upon  earth  for  them,  of  a  sphere 
for  that  new  life  to  dwell  in ;  4th,  In  it,  all  the  means  and  in- 
fluences whereby  the  flame  of  that  new  life  shall  be  fed,  and 
cherished  until  it  reach  perfection. 

lY.  The  WoED,  therefore,  became  incarnate.  God,  made 
man — the  two  natures,  the  perfect  Godhead  of  the  Son,  united 
with  perfect  humanity,  in  One  Peeson — was  born  of  the  Virgin 
into  this  world.  He  lived  with  us  until  the  age  of  mature 
and  complete  manhood,  as  the  perfect  example  and  standard 
of  the  human  race,  in  his  life  and  precepts.  He  died  then  upon 
Calvary  as  a  sacrifice  and  atonement  for  the  sins  of  the  whole 
world.  He  rose  from  the  dead  and  ascended  into  heaven  to  be 
our  Mediator.  The  King,  the  Priest,  and  the  Prophet  of  His 
people  upon  earth,  until  the  judgment  day.  This  is  the  three- 
fold work  of  our  Lord  for  man,  which,  once  done,  establishes 
the  Gospel. 

Y.  For, — in  consequence  of  this  and  because  of  it, — the 
Spirit  of  the  Father  and  Son  was  sent  upon  earth  to  organize 
the  Church  of  Christ,  and  to  call  upon  all  men  to  come  within  it. 
The  Church,  the  Kingdom  of  our  unseen  King,  the  Temple  of 
our  High  Priest  and  Prophet  within  the  veil,  is  a  permanent 
and  visible  tabernacle  upon  the  earth  for  the  regenerate  to  dwell 
within.  It  is  the  sphere  of  the  new  life.  In  it  are  present 
unto  man  all  the  spiritual  blessings  which  our  Lord  obtains  and 
confers  upon  his  brethren. 


REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM.  309 

YI.  The  Chnrcli  of  God  is  a  visible  organized  society  upon 
earth,  with  an  apostolic  ministry.  It  is  Catholic  as  receiving- 
all  men,  in  all  times,  and  of  all  lands  and  races,  within  its 
bosom  ;  and  as,  finally,  to  spread  over  the  whole  world.  The 
Spirit  is  its  indwelling  and  organizing  power.  It  is  holy  ;  for 
within  its  fold  are  all  the  means  of  holiness  and  salvation  to 
him  that  believeth  and  is  baptized.  All  men  are  called  by 
Christ  to  come  within  His  Church.  "  The  "Spirit  and  the  Bride 
say,  come." 

YII.  Hence,  to  all  men,  the  Gospel  is  preached.  To  all 
men  are  proffered,  1st,  Remission  of  all  their  sins ;  2d,  En- 
trance within  the  Chnrcli  of  Christ  upon  earth,  and  with  it 
the  new  life  of  Christ,  which  together  make  regeneration, — the 
new  birth  into  the  new  state,  the  state  of  grace  and  salvation  ; 
after  this,  until  death,  sufficient  grace  and  guidance,  that  we 
may  reach  everlasting  glory  in  heaven. 

YIII.  This  gift  is  offered  to  man  on  stated  conditions  and 
by  the  appointed  means.  The  conditions  on  the  part  of  man 
are,  1st,  True  and  heartfelt  repentance  from  sin ;  2d,  Real 
and  sincere  faith  in  God,  through  Jesus  Christ  our  Lord. 
These  two,  actually  existing  in  the  man,  constitute  conversion  ; 
that  is,  a  sincere  and  earnest  "  turning  away  from  sin  and  a 
turning  toward "  God,  of  the  soul,  willingly,  heartily,  and 
affectionately  done.  It  is  the  work  of  the  Holy  Spirit  influ- 
encing and  aiding  the  will  of  man.  It  is  required  of  all  who 
come  to  Christ,  both  of  those  who  have  never  been  baptized 
and  of  those  who,  having  professed  His  name  in  baptism,  have 
fallen  away  into  sin.  Of  this  work,  the  ordinary  means  is  the 
preaching  of  the  Gospel  by  the  commissioned  ambassadors  of 
our  Lord.  Yet,  in  manifold  ways,  and  by  means  the  most  un- 
expected, does  the  eternal  Spirit  strive  with  man,  that  he  may 
turn  toward  God. 

IX.  Man  being  thus  prepared,  there  is  no  bar,  on  his  part, 
to  the  grace  of  God.  The  gift  of  regeneration  is  given  to  him 
in  God's  appointed  way,  and  by  the  means  He  has  established 
in  the  sacrament  of  baptism.     Therein  we  are  born  of  water, 


310  REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM. 

the  outward  and  visible  sign,  and  of  the  Spirit,  the  inward  life- 
giving  power.  Therein  we  are  made  "  members  of  Christ, 
children  of  God,  inheritors  of  the  kingdom  of  heaven."  All 
this  is  done  on  condition  of  our  faith  and  repentance,  by  the 
6Uj)ernatural  and  miraculous  power  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  acting 
in  this  world  of  space  and  time,  in  and  by  means  of  the 
sacrament  of  baptism. 

X.  This  birth  is  no  bare  figure,  no  mere  outward  sign  of  a 
grace  which  we  had  before.  But  it  is  the  actual  and  real  gift 
of  regeneration,  then  and  there  conferred  upon  us,  on  the  con- 
ditions required  of  us  by  God,  and  by  the  means  which  He  has 
ordained  for  our  acceptance.  Our  sins  are  all  forgiven  by  the 
merits  of  Christ's  death  and  sacrifice,  then  applied  to  our  souls 
by  the  Holy  Spirit.  The  life  of  Christ  is  then  implanted  in 
our  being.  We  are  then  brought,  by  the  same  Spirit,  within 
the  Church  of  God.  As  every  true  and  real  birth  consists  of, 
and  is  made  up  of,  these  two, — an  organic  life  and  a  sphere  of 
being  for  that  life  to  mature  and  exist  therein ;  so  our  new 
birth  consists  of  these  two,  internally  and  externally, — the  life 
of  Christ  and  our  entrance  into  the  Church  of  God,  which  is 
upon  earth,  the  sphere  and  home  of  that  new  life. 

XI.  Henceforth,  from  the  moment  of  our  baptism,  we  are, 
1st,  The  sons  ot  God,  through  Jesus  Christ  our  Lord  ;  2d,  We 
are  members  of  the  Election,  which  is  the  Church  of  God  visi- 
ble upon  the  earth,  "  Elect  according  to  the  foreknowledge  oi' 
God  the  Father,  through  sanctification  of  the  Spirit  unto  obe- 
dience and  sprinkling  of  the  blood  of  Jesus  Christ."  3d,  We 
are  in  covenant  with  God  through  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ, 
the  Mediator  of  the  New  Covenant.  All  these  privileges  belong 
to  the  members  of  Christ's  Church  militant,  collectively  and 
individually. 

XII.  Our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  is,  therefore,  unto  us  who  are 
baptized  into  the  Church,  a  living  and  a  present  Saviour.  Now 
He  intercedes  and  reigns  for  us.  We  are  subjects  of  a  Kingdom 
— members  of  a  Church  that  has  now  a  real,  organized  exist- 
ence upon  the  earth  ;  that  is  now  visible  and  actual  in  space  and 


REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM.  311 

time ;  although  its  King  and  Prophet  and  Great  High  Priest ; 
its  heavenly  hosts  of  angels  and  archangels,  cherubim  and  ser- 
aphim; its  communion  of  saints  that  are  gone  to  their  rest; 
nay,  our  own  highest  spiritual  privileges  and  blessings,  be  not 
visible  to  our  bodily  eyes.  These,  during  our  abidance  in  the 
Church  militant  upon  earth,  are  only  to  be  seen  by  faith.  In 
our  future  life  of  glory,  in  the  Church  triumphant,  "  we  shall 
see  even  as  we  are  seen,  face  to  face." 

XIII.  Having  thus  entered  within  the  Church,  the  one 
great  key  to  all  the  blessings  of  our  state  and  condition  is,  upon 
our  part,  an  earnest  and  living  faith.  Faith  is  the  eye  that 
opens  the  soul  to  all  the  light  of  heaven.  It  is  the  hand  that 
receives  and  appropriates  all  the  gifts  and  graces  of  the  state 
in  which  we  are  placed.  It  lays  hold  upon  and  accepts  all  the 
merits  of  Christ.  Faith,  therefore,  justifies.  For,  as  Christ  is 
the  centre  of  all  salvation,  the  substance  and  the  reality  of  all 
means,  all  sacraments,  all  spiritual  blessings,  it  is  faith  which 
willingly,  consciously,  lovingly  accepts  and  receives  Him  in 
them  all.  In  Him,  therefore,  it  receives  pardon  of  all  sins, 
and  all  the  merits  of  His  incarnation ;  of  His  death  and  sac- 
rifice on  earth,  and  of  His  present  and  perpetual  mediation  for 
us  in  heaven.  Such,  to  the  regenerate  man,  are  the  eflects  of 
faith,  a  living,  habitual,  and  loving  personal  faith,  constantly 
laying  hold  upon  God,  through  Jesus  Christ  our  Lord. 

XI Y.  Hence,  within  the  Church  of  God  upon  earth  there 
are  two  classes  equal,  in  the  blessings  by  which  they  are  sur- 
rounded, unequal  in  the  use  they  make  of  them :  the  sons  of 
God  who  love,  believe,  and  obey  their  Heavenly  Father,  and 
they  who,  being  sons,  have  no  faith,  and  therefore  no  love  and 
no  obedience  to  His  laws.  The  first  "  hold  fast  the  faith,"  they 
"  build  themselves  up  in  faith,"  "  they  follow  after  faith," 
"  they  fight  the  good  fight  of  faith  " — all,  therefore,  of  the 
spiritual  blessings  of  this  state  that  they  can  receive  they  do 
receive.  First  and  greatest  of  all,  as  opening  the  way  to  all, 
that  they  are  uncondemned,  or  justified,  before  God,  through 
faith  in  Jesus  Christ  our  Lord.     To  be  in  such  a  state  is  mani- 


312  REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM. 

festlj  to  be  really  lioly,  according  to  our  capacity,  and  that  not 
of  ourselves,  but  of  the  gift  of  God.  Hence  they  who  have  a 
living  faith,  the  justified  that  is,  make  up  a  class  of  real  saints 
within  the  Church  of  God.  They  are  "  the  communion  of 
saints."  Those,  again,  who  have  not  that  living  faith,  are  they 
who  are  rebellious  sons, — they  who  wilfully  and  knowingly 
live  in  sin,  and  therefore  are  condemned  before  God  and  not 
justified. 

XY.  The  signs  of  a  living  faith  in  the  baptized  are,  first,  in 
the  heart, — love  to  God  and  man ;  second,  in  the  life, — a  will- 
ing obedience  to  God's  laws;  in  other  words,  a  religious  and 
devotional  life,  arising  from  a  true  and  sincere  habitual  faith. 

Of  man's  baptism  all  men  can  judge — they  can  see  whether 
it  has  taken  place  or  not ;  of  his  justification,  only  God,  and 
the  man's  own  secret  heart,  are  certain  and  assured. 

XVI.  Our  sonship,  begun  in  this  world,  is  completed  at  the 
resurrection.  Here,  our  greatest  privileges  in  Christ,  although 
real,  are  only  initial.  Then  and  there,  is  the  Consummation 
— the  final  completion  of  our  career.  We  are  then  born  from 
the  state  of  grace  into  the  state  of  glory,  "Sons  of  God,  being 
sons  of  the  Resurrection."  The  spiritual  life  that  began  in  this 
world,  comes  to  its  maturity  then,  in  the  glorified  body,  the 
perfected  intellect,  the  redeemed  and  spotless  spirit  in  the  open 
vision  of  God.  We  have  then  attained  unto  maturity.  We 
have  "  come  unto  the  perfect  man,  unto  the  measure  of  the 
stature  of  the  fulness  of  Christ."  "  As  he  is,"  so  then  "  shall 
we  be  also."  And  furthermore,  the  creation  itself  is  then  re- 
generated, "born  with  us,  unto  the  glorious  liberty  of  the  sons 
of  God."  And  the  new  heavens  and  the  new  earth  are  hence- 
forth forever  our  eternal  home  and  dwelling-place.  So  shall 
all  who,  in  the  state  of  grace  upon  earth,  had  lived  in  a  true 
faith,  live  with  our  Lord  forever  in  the  state  of  glory  in  heaven. 


BOOK   III. 


SCEIPTURAL  PROOFS. 


CHAPTER  I. 

Our  readers  have  now  before  them,  clearly,  what  the 
Church  means  by  the  word  regeneration.  They  have  before 
them  the  authority  in  our  Prayer  Book  for  the  doctrine.  They 
have  also  seen  its  uses,  and  the  deep  and  practical  philosophy 
it  contains,  as  applied  to  life.  Now,  therefore,  is  the  time  to 
examine  the  Scripture  proofs,  for  there  is  no  doubt  that  the  mass 
of  professing  Christians  in  this  country  attach  no  such  meaning 
to  the  word  "  regeneration  "  as  we  do ;  the  ideas  of  which  it, 
with  us,  is  the  centre,  do  not  belong  to  their  ordinary  use  of  the 
word.  Regeneration  and  conversion  are,  with  them,  identical. 
"VVe  claim  that  the  two  ideas  are  utterly  distinct, — we  assert 
that  regeneration  is  a  doctrine  and  fact  peculiarly  Christian ;  it 
is  a  gift  to  us  from  Christ  our  Lord,  in  His  Church,  and  since 
His  coming  into  the  M^orld.  It  is  only  since  Christ  came,  and 
because  of  His  coming,  as  the  Cod-man  upon  the  earth,  the 
Redeemer  of  the  world,  that  men  can  become  sons  of  God. 

Surely,  then,  since  this  great  confusion  of  words  reigns 
among  the  masses  of  ordinary  Christians,  it  is  well  that  we 
should  fully  and  exactly  understand  what  we  mean  by  the 
word  "  regeneration,"  and  the  ideas  we  attach  to  it,  before  we 
examine  the  word  as  found  in  Holy  Writ.  And  this  the  more 
that  the  other  doctrine,  that  of  conversion,  is  also  held  by  us  as 
distinctly  as  by  any  of  them,  but  only  as  belonging  to  its  own 
proper  term,  and  in  its  proper  position.  For  we  do  not  say 
that  conversion  is  regeneration,  or  that  regeneration  is  con- 
version ;  but  we  say  that  regeneration  is  the  new  birth,  and 
conversion  is  the  turning  of  man  from  evil  to  good,  under  the 
influence  of  the  Spirit  of  God. 


316  REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM. 

Anotlier  remark  we  would  make  most  important  in  these 
days  of  mere  verbal  arguers — that  wretched  class  so  nnmerons 
since  men  have  given  up  belief  in  the  real  existence  of  the 
Church — that  there  is  something  more  necessary  to  truth  than 
exclusively  grammatical  examination.  In  fact,  all  discussion 
of  any  truth  of  Scripture,  to  be  sound  and  complete,  must 
have,  first,  the  verbal  examination  of  the  term  or  phrase  in 
Holy  Writ,  with  its  context ;  secondly,  the  discussion  of  the 
conception,  or  the  examination  of  the  logical  truth  and  consist- 
ency of  the  whole  "complex  of  the  ideas  which  we  attach  in  om* 
minds  to  that  word  or  phrase ;  and,  thirdly,  the  reality  and 
actual  truth  of  the  thing  itself  in  the  woi'ld  of  facts  and  events. 
These  remarks  we  make  in  reference,  mainly,  to  those  gram- 
marians of  Germany,  who  take  it  for  granted,  at  the  start,  that 
merely  from  the  verbal  form  of  Scripture,  they  can  bring  forth 
the  truth, — who  cast  aside  all  the  laws  of  logic,  and  laugh  to 
scorn  creeds,  liturgies,  and  doctrines.*  In  regard  to  this,  we 
say,  let  us  have  all  the  knowledge  of  grammatical  principles, 
of  words,  and  idiom  that  we  can  have,  by  the  most  extended  and 
laborious  verbal  research.  Then  let  us  have  all  the  skill  in  the 
necessary  laws  of  thought,  all  the  logical  training,  verbal  and 

*  Luther,  with,  his  enormous  personal  influence,  and  his  extreme  sub- 
jectivity, commenced  all  this  mischief.  His  doctrine  of  "  the  Bible  only," 
and  the  infallibility  of  private  judgment,  in  fact,  shut  him  into  this  idea. 
And,  accordingly,  we  find  him  asserting  that  all  theology  is  merely  gram- 
mar 1  "Lutherus — theologiam  veram  et  summam  nihil  aliud  esse,  quam 
grammaticam,  h.  e.,  Grsecarum,  Hebraicarumque  literarum  scientiam  pu- 
tabat." — Ernesti,  cited  by  Donaldson,  "The  New  Cratylus,"  p.  11,  Preface, 
Chalmers  also  asserts  the  same  thing :  "  The  mind  and  meaning  of  the 
author  who  is  translated,  is  purely  a  question  of  language,  and  should  be 
decided  upon  no  other  principles  than  those  of  grammar  or  philology." — 
Works,  p.  54,  Am.  ed. 

There  never  was  any  more  blind  and  stupid  principle  laid  down,  as  any 
one  will  tell  you  who  is  really  conversant  with  the  science  of  legal  interpre- 
tation. And  yet  it  is  undoubtedly  the  principle  upon  which  the  German 
exegetes  of  the  Bible  have  worked  up  to  this  time.  Because  grammar 
and  philology  are  very  advantageous  indeed  in  the  interpretation  of  docu- 
ments, therefore,  no  other  knowledge  whatsoever  is  in  any  degree  necessary 
or  requisite ! 


REGENERATION  IN  BAPTIS3I.  317 

real,  which  these  men  are  now  so  deficient  in.  And,  lastly, 
let  us  have  the  science  of  real  intei*pretation — as  lawyers  at  the 
bar,  practically  acquainted  with  the  business  of  life,  and  judges 
accustomed  to  the  weighing  of  evidence  upon  the  bench,  under- 
stand it — applied  to  the  documents  of  Scripture. 

For  there  is  a  science  of  real  interpretation.  Men  of  great 
genius  in  the  legal  profession  have  laid  down  its  principles  and 
given  the  rules  requisite  for  its  aj)plication.  This  science  is 
part  of  the  education  of  every  well-trained  lawyer  in  this 
country,  and  a  primal  qualification  of  every  judge  that  sits 
npon  the  bench.  We  have  yet  to  learn  that  these  German 
exegetes  understand  any  of  the  principles  of  this  important 
science.  We  question  whether,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  even  the 
ablest  and  honestest  of  them,  Michaelis,  or  Tholuck,  or  Ernesti, 
or  Gesenius,  ever  even  dreamed  of  the  existence  of  such  a 
science.  In  fact,  so  far  as  we  have  seen  of  the  German  com- 
mentators, their  commentaries  give  no  indication,  in  any  way, 
of  real  principles  of  interpretation.  We  question  whether 
any  of  their  commentaries,  considered  as  examinations  of  docu- 
ments, and  their  evidence  and  gist,  would  stand  for  a  moment 
the  judicial  eye,  we  will  say,  of  Story,  or  Marshall,  or  Green- 
leaf. 

In  truth,  their  whole  process  is  the  reverse  of  interpretation. 
This  science  seeks  scientifically  to  fix  and  determine  the  mean- 
ing of  documents  that  are  of  authority.  The  German  exegesis, 
in  eft'ect,  is  generally  the  reverse  of  this.  It  loosens  all  mean- 
ing. It  gives  the  power  of  attaching  any  sense  you  please. 
It  is  a  magazine  of  negations  and  evasions.  It  is  merely  verbal 
and  grammatical,  not  logical,  nor  real,  nor  legal.* 

*  There  are,  now,  both  in  classical  and  sacred  exegesis,  many  indications 
that  this  vicious  system  is  to  pass  away,  and  that  real  interpretation  is  going 
to  take  its  station  in  Germany,  side  by  side  with  grammatical  argumenta- 
tion. It  may  seem  that  we  have  spoken  somewhat  harshly  of  these  ex- 
egetes ;  and  yet  we  have  by  no  means  used,  concerning  them,  stronger  lan- 
guage than  that  which  most  able  and  learned  men  in  Germany  have  employed 
of  late.  Take,  for  instance,  the  very  first  paragraph  of  the  preface  to  the 
sixth  edition  of  Winer's  "  Grammar  of  the  New  Testament  Idiom."   "  When 


318  REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM. 

Indeed,  it  is  only  in  the  great  commentators  of  the  Primi- 
tive Church — St.  Chrysostom,  St.  Augustine,  St.  Athanasius ; 
only  in  the  great  English  theologians — Bull  and  Barrow, 
Pearson,  Laud,  and  Hooker;  and  in  some  of  the  Roman 
Catholics,  when  these  last  are  not  upon  their  own  peculiar 
notions — that  we  see  real  intei-pretation.  Only  in  these  do  we 
behold  the  principle  that  the  Scriptures  relate  to  awful  realities 
connected  with  man's  eternal  destinies ;  only  in  them  the  con- 
viction that  they  are  authoritative  documents.  In  fact  and  truth, 
were  our  system  of  interpretation — that  of  the  interpretation 
of  Scriptures  in  accordance  with  the  creeds  and  the  universal 
sense  of  the  Primitive  Church — drawn  forth  in  a  scientific 
form,  as  well  adapted  to  modern  times  as  the  manual  of 
Vincent  of  Lerins  was  for  the  fifth  century,  we  have  no  doubt 
that  it  would  perfectly  satisfy  the  most  scientific  jurisconsult. 
And,  indeed,  if  the  science  of  legal  interpretation  as  to  its 
principles  be  thoroughly  examined,  these  will  be  found  to  be 
the  basis  of  the  interpretation  of  Scripture,  which  is  given  by 
the  Fathers,  and  by  the  great  Anglican  divines. 

To  resume  :  our  readers  will  remember  that  the  central  and 
leading  text  on  the  subject  of  regeneration,  is  our  Blessed 
Saviour's  own  conversation  with  Nicodemus,  narrated  in  the 
third  chapter  of  the  Gospel  of  St.  John. 

"  There  was  a  man  of  the  Pharisees,  named  Nicodemus,  a 
ruler  of  the  Jews :  the  same  came  to  Jesus  by  night,  and  said 
unto  Him,  Rabbi,  we  know  that  Thou  art  a  teacher  come  from 
God :  for  no  man  can  do  these  miracles  that  Thou  doest,  ex- 

tliis  grammar  first  made  its  appearance,  in  1823,  the  object  proposed  was  to 
oppose  the  tinbridled  license  witli  which  the  diction  of  the  New  Testament 
was  then, &nd  had  long  heen,handled  in  commentaries  and  exegetical  lectures; 
and  to  apply,  as  far  as  practical,  the  results  of  an  enlightened  philology,  as 
taught  by  Hermann  and  his  School,  to  the  study  of  the  language  of  the 
New  Testament.  It  was  high  time  that  some  voice  should  be  raised  against 
the  inveterate  empiricism  of  expositors,  and  that  some  effort  should  be  made 
to  emancipate  the  writers  of  the  New  Testament  f7'om  the  bondage  of  a  per- 
verted philology  which  styled  itself  sacred,  and  yet  slwwed  not  theleast  respect 
toward  the  sacred  authors  and  their  well-considered  phraseology." 


REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM.  819 

cept  God  be  with  Him.  Jesus  answered  and  said  unto  him, 
Yerily,  verily,  I  say  unto  thee,  Except  a  man  be  born  again, 
he  cannot  see  the  kingdom  of  God.  Nicodemus  saith  unto 
Him,  How  can  a  man  be  born  when  he  is  old  ?  can  he  enter 
the  second  time  into  his  mother's  womb,  and  be  born  ?  Jesus 
answered,  Yerily,  verily,  I  say  unto  thee,  Except  a  man  be 
born  of  water  and  of  the  Spirit,  he  cannot  enter  into  the  king- 
dom of  God.  That  which  is  born  of  the  flesh  is  flesh ;  and 
that  which  is  born  of  the  Spirit  is  spirit.  Marvel  not  that  I 
said  unto  thee.  Ye  must  be  born  again.  The  wind  bloweth 
where  it  listeth,  and  thou  hearest  the  sound  thereof,  but  canst 
not  tell  whence  it  cometh,  and  whither  it  goeth  :  so  is  every 
one  that  is  born  of  the  Spirit."  * 

Now  here  is  a  new  birth  spoken  of, — a  birth  of  water  and 
the  Spirit.  What  is  the  meaning  of  this  ?  We  think  it  but 
fair,  after  what  we  have  said  of  German  exegetes,  to  give  them 
a  full  chance  of  being  heard.  We,  therefore,  copy  entire  the 
interpretation,  upon  the  fifth  verse,  of  Tholuck,  one  of  the  most 
learned,  most  able,  and  most  pious  of  the  German  commen- 
tators. 

"  The  Fathers  of  the  Church,  and  after  them  the  inter- 
preters of  the  Roman  and  Lutheran  Churches,  almost  univer- 
sally take  udojp  here  in  the  sense  of  Christian  baptism  only. 
And  this  is,  in  fact,  the  sense  which  most  readily  offers  itself 
to  the  reader ;  among  the  moderns  also  it  is  so  understood  by 
Tittmann,  Knapp,  Fikenscher,  and  others.  It  is  also  con- 
firmed by  the  parallel  passage  in  John,  v.  6,  where  ev  udarc 
xac  Kciiazt  is  referred  to  baptism  by  far  the  greater  number  of 
interpreters,  and  lately  by  Liicke  also.  This  view  is  not  less 
supported  by  the  intimate  connexion  in  which  baptism  and 
regeneration  are  generally  placed  in  the  New  Testament, 
(Eph.  V.  26  ;  I.  Pet  iii.  20 ;  Tit.  iii.  5.)  To  those,  however, 
who  regard  the  baptismal  water  only  as  a  signaculum  or  seal, 
it  seems  strange  that  the  Redeemer  should  put  so  much  im- 
portance upon  this  sign.  On  this  account  this  view  has  been 
*  St.  John,  iii.  1,  8. 


320  REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM. 

dismissed  by  the  interpreters  of  the  Eeformed  *  Church,  as 
well  as  by  the  Arminians  and  modern  interpreters."  f 

In  order  to  show  plain  men  what  help  they  have,  when  the 
manifest  literal  sense  is  banished,  because  it  seems  strange  that 
the  Redeemer  should  place  so  much  importance  upon  this 
sign, — a  sacrament,  that  is,  which  He  himself  instituted  to  be 
used  perpetually  and  unchangeably  in  His  Church ! — we  shall 
go  on  to  give  the  rest  of  these  annotations. 

"  Many,  like  Calvin,  take  spirit  as  epexegetical  of  water, 
'  aquae  spirituales  non  fluviales,'  and  appeal  to  the  hendiadys. — 
(Matt.  iii.  11.)     So  also  in  Winer  (Ex.  Stud.  p.  140). 

"  Others,  like  Grotius,  understand  a  hendiadys  reversed, 
'  spiritus  aquae  instar  emundans.' 

"  Some,  as  Cocceius  and  Lampe,  understand  by  udcop  the 
'  obedientia  pura '  of  Christ. 

"  Zuinglius :  intelligit  per  spiritum,  celestem  operationem 
Spiritus  Dei ;  per  aquam,  cognitionem,  claritatem,  lucem 
celestem. 

"  Others,  like  Beza,  Beausobre,  and  Herder,  suppose  that 
Christ  referred  to  the  then  well-known  rite  of  John's  baptism, 
or  that  of  proselytes  ;  and,  as  Beausobre  says,  it  may  be  trans- 
lated without  hesitation.  'Si  quelq'un  n'est  ne  non  seulement 
del'eau  niais  aussi  de  I'esprit.' — [If  any  one  is  born  not  only  of 
water,  but  also  of  the  Spirit.] 

"  Some,  also,  think  of  a  mystical,  ethereal  element — the 
higher  water — out  of  which  the  spiritual  body  of  man  is 
formed. — (What  does  this  mean  ?)  So  Schubert  (in  Y.  Meyer, 
Blatter  fiir  Warh.  xi.  76,  Ueber  einige  Bed.  des  worts  Wasser 
in  der  Schrift,  and  also  the  Ev.  Schiillehrerb. 

"  Heissen  in  a  Dissert,  von  1727,  shows  that  the  Rabbins 
spoke  of  a  heavenly  water  in  a  mystical  sense,  and  he  believes 
that  allusion  is  made  here  to  the  history  of  creation,  where  the 
'  Sjnrit  moved  ujpon  the  face  of  the  waters.''  " 

*  i.  e.  Calvinistic.     In  the  language  of  the  Continent,  Reformed  always 
means  Calvinistic ;  Protestant,  always  Lutheran. 
f  Tholuck,  on  the  passage. 


REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM.  321 

"  Finally,  according  to  Erasmus,  TTvlufxa  is  to  be  understood 
of  the  air.  Christ  places,  figuratively,  the  two  purest  spiritual 
elements  in  opposition  to  the  gross  earthly  birth. 

"  The  view  of  Olshausen  is  peculiar  :  '  The  ideas  of  birth 
and  creation  are  very  nearly  allied, — as  in  creation  now,  water 
appears  as  the  passive  element,  and  Spirit  as  the  forming 
power ;  so  also  in  the  jevurjdrjvat  ic  odazoc;  y.at  Tivkuyiaxoz^ 
being  born  of  water  and  the  Spirit,  the  Spirit  is  the  creative 
power  of  regeneration,  whilst  water  is  the  feminine  principle 
in  repentance,  the  purified  element  of  the  soul,  which  becomes, 
as  it  were,  the  mother  of  the  new  man The  interpre- 
tation which  refers  this  to  baptism  is  entirely  correct,  only  it 
must  be  understood  as  intimating  not  the  sacrament,  but  the 
idea  of  baptism."  * 

Quite  a  collection,  this,  of  modes  of  regeneration,  for  "  Cal- 
vinists,  Arminians,  and  modern  interpreters,"  when  we  have 
once  left  the  plain,  literal  sense  of  the  words.  We  leave  bap- 
tism, because  we  cannot  understand  how  "  so  much  importance 
can  be  attached  to  the  signaculum  by  the  Redeemer."  And 
then,  round  and  round  we  go,  until  finally  baptism  comes  up 
again,  "  only  it  must  be  understood  as  intimating,  not  the  sao- 
rament,  but  the  idea  of  baptism."  Was  there  ever  such  a 
congeries  of  guesses,  notions,  half-ideas  flung  out  at  random, 
and  whimsies,  as  interpretations  ?  And  this,  too,  by  men  of 
great  learning  and  great  name. 

AVe  go  on,  however,  to  give  the  final  summing  up  of  Tho- 
luck  himself,  a  conclusion  which  concludes  nothing,  a  decison 
in  which  nothing  is  decided : 

"  Our  opinion  is,  that  we  must  commence  with  the  opposi- 
tion which  is  almost  always  made  between  the  water  bap- 
tism of  John,  and  the  baptism  of  the  Spirit  by  Christ 
(John,  i.  26,  31,  33  ;  Luke,  iii.  16  ;  Acts,  i.  5).  The  baptism  of 
water  denotes  the  baptism  of  repentance  (St.  John,  i.  26);  the 
baptism  of  the  Spirit  is  that  of  an  inward  purification,  of  a 
life-giving  faith.  Both  must  be  united  in  genuine  conversion. 
*  Tholuck  on  John,  p.  110,  111. 
21 


322  REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM. 

If  we  explain  this  (Liicke  comments  excellently  on  tlie  passage), 
the  reference  to  Christian  baptism  is  inunediatelj  compre- 
hended within  it.  It  is  very  possible,  however,  that  this  term 
may  have  had  still  other  signilications  which  were  more  intelli- 
gible to  Nicodemus ;  as,  for  instance,  this,  that  he  was  directed 
to  the  ablutions,  already  known  to  him,  in  order  to  apprehend 
them  in  a  more  spiritual  manner;  perhaps,  also,  by  baptism  he 
was  to  be  exhorted  to  an  open  profession  of  Christ.  An  in- 
quiry, also,  might  be  made  concerning  the  profounder  meaning 
of  the  symbol  of  water."  * 

We  have  given  to  our  readers  the  interpretations  of  a  man, 
certainly  of  great  learning  and  ability,  and  of  undoubted  hon- 
esty and  personal  piety.  We  now  set  before  them  a  principle 
of  the  great  Anglican  divine,  Richard  Hooker,  upon  the  sub- 
ject of  interpretation,  before  cited  in  this  volume,  which  we 
ask  them  to  consider  :  "  We  take  it  as  a  most  infallible  rule 
in  exposition  of  sacred  Scriptures,  that  when  a  literal  construc- 
tion will  stand,  the  farthest  from  the  letter  is  commonly  the 
worst.  There  is  nothing  more  dangerous  than  this  licentious 
and  deluding  art,  which  changeth  the  meaning  of  words,  as 
alchemy  doeth,  or  would  do,  the  substance  of  metals,  making 
of  everything  what  it  listeth,  and  hringeth,  in  the  end^  all  truth 
to  nothing.'*^  f 

Now,  let  us  look  to  the  passage  of  St.  John  above  cited. 
What  does  it  say  in  the  plain,  literal  sense  ?  This,  first,  that 
there  is,  from  the  "  only-begotten  Son  of  God,"  in  this  world, 
a  new  spiritual  birth  for  man. 

Second,  that  this  new  birth  is  of  water  and  of  the  Spirit. 

Third,  that  except  he  be  so  born,  he  cannot  enter  into  the 
kingdom  of  God.  And  thereby  ensues  a  stringent  and  con- 
clusive logical  inference,  that  by  being  born  of  water  and  the 
Spirit,  he  does  thereby  enter  the  kingdom  of  God. 

These  three  things  are  said  in  the  plain,  literal  sense  of  the 
words.  There  is,  therefore,  such  a  thing  for  man  as  a  new  birth. 
It  must  be  by  water  and  the  Spirit,  and  by  it  we  enter  into  the 
*  Tholuck  on  John,  p.  111.  f  Hooker,  vol.  ii.  p.  253. 


REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM.  323 

kingdom  of  God.     This  is  what  the  passage  says,  plainly,  dis- 
tinctly, and  manifestly. 

But  these  great  interpreters  (we  have  given  twelve  or 
thirteen  of  them)  do  not  take  the  literal  sense  of  the  passage. 
We  admit  they  do  not.  And  we  think  that  if  our  readers  will 
look  back  over  these  interpretations,  as  given  by  Tholuck,  they 
will  find  them,  as  Hooker  says,  "  making  of  words  what  they 
list,  and  finally  bringing  all  truth  to  nothing."  They  would 
find,  had  they  read  the  whole  of  the  voluminous  argumenta- 
tions of  these  learned  men  (for  Tholuck  only  gives  their  con- 
clusions), that  their  method  is  a  delusive  art ;  so  delusive,  in- 
deed, that  no  honest,  plain  man,  cast  into  that  huge  labyrinth 
of  learning,  could  tell  how,  or  when,  or  by  what  means  regenera- 
tion takes  place,  or  w^hat  it  is. 

But  why  should  these  great  and  learned  men  shrink  back 
from  the  literal  sense,  supposing  them  also  honest  men  ?  The 
answer  is  plain.  They  refuse  the  literal  sense,  because  they  say 
it  is  impossible.  The  truth  is,  they  cannot  hold  it,  because  they 
do,  consciously  or  unconsciously,  hold  something  else  entirely 
inconsistent  with  it.  (See  Tholuck,  for  example,  in  the  very 
passage  we  have  cited.)  He  admits  that  the  fathers  of  the 
Church — that  is,  all  Christian  interpreters,  without  excep- 
tion, Greek,  Latin,  and  Oriental — for  twelve  hundred  years 
after  Christ,  all  the  Lutheran  and  Homan  Catholic  commenta- 
tors (he  might  have  added,  all  the  great  Anglican  commenta- 
tors) take  the  literal  interpretation.  But  he  cannot,  and  why? 
Because  "  it  seems  strange  that  the  Redeemer  should  attach  so 
much  importance"  to  the  baptismal  water  and  words.  That  is, 
really,  because  he,  Tholuck,  does  not  understand  or  accept  the 
doctrine  of  the  sacraments  as  it  is  in  the  Christian  system. 

Looking,  with  this  thought  in  our  mind,  and  from  the 
same  point  of  view,  over  the  discussions  upon  the  subject 
of  baptismal  regeneration,  we  shall  at  once  find  many  things 
made  plain  to  us.  An  Unitarian,  for  instance,  reading 
this  passage  of  St.  John,  cannot  take  it  in  the  literal  sense, 
because   he   does  not  believe  in   original   sin, — he  does  not 


324  REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM. 

believe  in  the  divinity  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  or  of  the 
Holy  Spirit,  or  in  the  existence  of  a  Church  on  earth. 
A  Methodist  does  not  believe  in  the  existence  of  a  Cliurch, 
or  that  sacraments  are  in  any  way  effectual.  A  Calvinist, 
although  he  believes  in  the  Holy  Spirit,  and  in  the  corrup- 
tion of  man's  nature,  yet  believes  actually  in  no  Church  upon 
the  earth,  and  connects  the  work  of  the  Holy  Spirit  with  pre- 
destination and  absolute  decrees,  and  not  with  sacraments  in 
any  way.  Now  ask  any  of  these,  Wherefore  do  you  not  be- 
lieve that  the  words,  "  born  of  water  and  the  Spirit,"  mean  a 
birth  of  water  and  the  Spirit,  by  which  we  enter  into  the 
kingdom  of  God  ?  and  they  will  at  once  answer.  Because  it 
is  not  Scriptural.  They  are  perfectly  honest,  and  yet  perfectly 
unconscious  that  they  are  rejecting  the  plain,  literal  sense  of 
Holy  Writ,  and  that,  not\ie(i?i\\^Q  it  is  not  asserted  vn  t\\Q  ^cvi^t- 
ures,  but  because,  heing  asserted,  it  is  contrary  to  ideas  and 
notions  with  which,  personally,  they  are  possessed,  when  they 
approach  the  text. 

We,  therefore,  again  distinctly  assert  that  in  the  Holy 
Scriptures  of  the  New  Testament  we  are  said  to  be  regenerated 
or  new  born  of  water  and  the  Spirit,  and  that  this  takes  place  in 
baptism.  And  we  assert,  also,  that  the  reason  M^hy  these  com- 
mentators deny  it,  first,  is,  tliat  they  do  not  understand  the 
principles  of  real,  but  only  of  verbal  interpretation ;  and 
that,  secondly,  they  are  filled  with  prejudices,  false  principles, 
and  false  systems,  which  immediately  deny  the  truth  itself,  or 
some  of  its  coordinate  and  subsidiary  doctrines. 

Let  us  look,  then,  at  this  passage  plainly.  Is  it  simply  con- 
version that  it  proclaims?  Merely  the  doctrine  of  repentance 
from  past  sins,  and  faith  toward  God  ?  Of  this,  the  Old  Testa- 
ment is  full  to  overflowing.  This  the  Law  and  the  Prophets, 
through  every  page,  declare  to  man  in  trumpet  tones.  Where- 
fore, then,  is  the  great  Rabbin,  "  the  master  of  Israel,"  aston- 
ished when  he  hears  of  a  new  birth,  if  all  that  it  means  is  the 
turning  of  the  man  from  unbelief  and  sin  to  faith  and  holiness, 
by  the  power  of  the  Holy  Spirit  of  God  ?     Why  should  he  be 


REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM.  325 

astonislied  at  the  doctrine  of  conversion  (if  that  be  exactly 
what  "being  born  again"  means)  when  the  Psahnist  says, 
"  Sinners  shall  be  converted  unto  thee ;"  *  when  Isaiah  says, 
"  They  should  be  converted,  and  I  should  heal  them  ;  "  f  when 
the  Spirit  of  God,  and  His  work  upon  the  heart  of  man,  is  so 
often  mentioned  in  the  Old  Testament. 

If  the  new  birth,  proclaimed  by  our  Blessed  Lord,  means 
nothing  but  the  old  work  of  conversion,  which  the  Spirit  of 
God  was  wont  to  do  under  the  Old  Covenant  as  well  as  under 
the  New,  why  should  the  Master  of  Israel  be  startled  and  mar- 
vel and  hesitate  and  make  inquiries  so  strange  as  these  :  "  Can 
a  man  be  born  when  he  is  old  ?  Can  he  enter  the  second  time 
into  his  mother's  womb  and  be  born  ?  "  Is  it  not  perfectly  evi- 
dent that  it  was  not  the  idea  of  conversion — with  which,  on  the 
pages  of  the  Old  Testament,  he  was  perfectly  familiar — that  was 
propounded  to  him  then,  but  a  greater  and  grander  thought, 
not  to  be  found  on  the  surface  of  the  Jewish  system  under  the 
Old  Covenant, — the  idea  and  principle  and  fact  that  because 
the  only-begotten  Son  of  God  has  become  the  Son  of  Man,  so 
by  Him  man  can  become,  by  a  new  birth,  really,  in  this  life,  a 
son  of  God  ? 

And  then,  again,  in  reply  to  his  anxious  inquiry  as  to  the 
manner  of  the  new  birth,  why  is  the  answer  given  with  most 
solemn  and  emphatic  asseveration — ''  Yerily,  verily,  I  say  unto 
thee.  Except  a  man  be  born  of  water  and  of  the  Spirit,  he  can- 
not enter  into  the  kingdom  of  God" — instead  of  such  an 
answer  as  our  Presbyterian  commentators  give,  that  "  it 
simply  means  conversion,"  the  spiritual  and  moral  change 
produced  upon  the  man  by  faith  and  repentance, — a  process 
perfectly  understood  by  him  as  a  master  in  Israel,  and  by  no 
means  new  or  astonishing  to  any  pious  mind  at  that  time,  or 
at  the  present  day  ? 

Wherefore,  if  this  new  birth  into  the  kingdom  of  heaven 
means  simply  and  only  conversion — when  an  explanation  of 
the  mode  is  required — does  the  Saviour  merely  add  that  it  is  of 

*  Psalm  li.  13.  f  Isaiah,  cited  in  Matthew,  xiii.  15. 


326  REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM. 

water  and  the  Spirit  ?  The  commentators  that  take  this  ground 
are  sadly  incommoded  by  this  word  water.  They  shir  it  over, 
they  feel  uncomfortable  with  it, — the  text  would  be,  for  them,  a 
little  better  without  it,  as  we  can  plainly  see.  In  fact,  upon 
their  interpretation,  the  word  water  is  utterly  without  meaning, 
wholly  unnecessary  and  out  of  place.  It  should  not  be  there 
at  all,   only  the  word  Spirit. 

And  then,  furthermore,  when  jN^icodemus  urgently  inquires 
"  How  these  things  can  be  ? "  asking  an  explanation,  the  explan- 
ation given  by  our  Lord  is  the  doctrine  of  the  incarnation  of  the 
only-begotten  Son  (the  word  "  Son  "  is  used  of  Himself  five 
times  in  five  verses, — Son  of  Man  twice,  and  Son  of  God  three 
times),  and  of  His  coming  into  the  world  that  everlasting  life 
should  be  given  through  Him.  After  this  explanation  Nicode- 
mus  makes  no  more  replies  or  inquiries. 

We  believe,  as  fully  as  any  one  can  do,  in  the  necessity  of 
conversion  for  those  outside  the  Church,  and  also  for  those 
inside,  who  have  fallen  into  sin  ;  but  it  seems  to  us  that  noth- 
ing is  gained  by  attempting  to  find  in  this  passage  that  doctrine 
only.  It  looks  like  an  attempt  to  shut  out  grand  Christian 
ideas  and  facts,  which  never  had  existed  for  man  but  that  our 
Blessed  Lord  came  upon  the  earth  in  our  humanity,  and  to 
shut  us  in  to  so  much  only  of  truth  as  the  Jews  knew 
before  Christ  came.  In  other  words,  it  is  an  inadequate, 
poverty-stricken,  traditional  teaching  that  would  abase  Chris- 
tianity to  the  level  of  a  believing  and  pious  Judaism,  by 
asserting  that  man,  since  Christ  came,  can  only  enjoy  the  same 
spiritual  privilege  of  being  converted  which  the  believing 
Jews,  before  the  birth  of  Christ,  enjoyed,  instead  of  having, 
through  Him  and  His  incarnation,  the  power  of  being  sons 
of  God. 

But,  examine  the  Holy  Scriptures  of  the  Old  Testament 
thoroughly.  See  therein  repentance  and  faith  necessary  to 
man  ;  see  the  influence  of  the  Holy  Spirit  upon  our  race  univer- 
sally asserted ;  see,  therefore,  the  doctrine  of  conversion  in  its 
proper  place,  as  a  preparation  for  a  great  gift  to  be  given  in  the 


REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM.  32 Y 

fulness  of  time  to  man  from  God,  through  Jesus  Christ  our 
Lord.  And  then  this  passage  of  St.  John's  Gospel  describes 
for  us  that  gift,  coming  from  our  Lord's  incarnation  and  atone- 
ment, wrought  by  the  Spirit  and  received  by  faith,  and  abiding 
in  the  man, — a  true  birth,  a  real  regeneration,  not  a  mere  un- 
necessary and  unfruitful  figure  of  speech. 

And,  then,  let  us  think,  furthermore,  that  we  know  all  the 
facts  of  our  Saviour's  life  and  teaching  which  He  has  thought 
necessary  for  us  to  know, — His  incarnation.  His  death  and 
sacrifice,  His  burial  and  descent  into  Hades,  His  resurrection, 
from  the  dead,  His  teaching  of  the  Great  Forty  Days,  His  com- 
mission to  His  apostles.  His  ascension  into  heaven.  His 
mission  of  the  Paraclete,  His  institution  of  the  Holy  Catholic 
Church.  All  these  facts  and  doctrines  are,  for  us,  facts  and 
events.  They  have  taken  place,  been  consummated  and  per- 
fected. They  are  clearly  before  our  minds  and  upon  our 
tongues,  as  most  certain  and  authentic  truths.  With  these  on 
our  minds,  we  read  and  understand  this  passage  in  the  Christian 
sense.  And  we  hardly  think  that  all  these,  for  Nicodemus,  had 
not  occurred,  and  were  in  the  future,  or  else  they  were  unre- 
corded, as  yet  unwritten.  From  this  consideration,  we  do  most 
plainly  see  why  the  doctor  of  the  old  law,  the  master  of  Israel, 
did  not  understand,  when  he  heard  Christ  speak  of  the  "  new 
birth," — the  birth  of  water  and  the  Spirit,  into  the  kingdom 
of  God.  And  for  us,  as  Christians,  the  literal  sense  is  the  real 
sense,  because  all  the  facts  and  doctrines  connected  with  that 
new  birth  have  been  completed  in  Christ,  and  are  taught  in 
His  Church,  and  because  they  are  all  of  them  recorded  in 
plain  words  on  the  face  of  Holy  Wi*it. 

We  now  present  to  our  readers  a  schedule  of  passages  in 
the  New  Testament  that  bear  upon  the  doctrine,  heading  it 
with  the  famous  passage  of  John  : 

"Jesus  answered  and  said  unto  him,  Yerily,  verily,  I  say 
unto  thee,  Except  a  man  he  horn  again,  he  cannot  see  the  king- 
dom of  God."  * 

*  St.  John,  iii.  3. 


328  REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM. 

"  Yerilj,  verily,  I  say  unto  tliee,  except  a  man  be  horn  of 
water  and  of  the  Spirit,  lie  cannot  enter  into  the  kingdom  of 
God."* 

"  According  to  His  mercy  He  saved  us,  by  the  vjashing  (or 
baptism)  of  regeneration,  and  renewing  of  the  Holy  Ghost."  f 

"  Eight  souls  were  saved  by  water,  the  antitype  whereunto 
even  haptisin  doth  no-w  save  us.''''  X 

"  He  that  helieveth  and  is  haptized  shall  be  saved  ;  but  he 
that  disbelieveth  shall  be  damned."  § 

"  Go  ye  therefore,  and  make  disciples  of  all  nations,  bap- 
tizing them  in  the  name  of  the  Father,  and  of  the  Son,  and  of 
the  Holy  Ghost."  || 

''  Kepent,  and  be  baptized  every  one  of  you  in  the  name  of 
Jesus  Christ ybr  the  remission  of  sins.'"  ^ 

"  Arise,  and  be  baptized,  and  wash  away  thy  sins.'''  ** 

"  Christ  also  loved  the  Church,  and  gave  Himself  for  it ; 
that  He  might  sanctify  and  cleanse  it  by  the  washing  (a  bap- 
tism) of  (the)  water  with  the  Word''  ff 

"  So  many  of  us  as  were  baptized  into  Jesus  Christ  were 
baptized  into  His  death."  XX 

"  Ye  are  all  the  sons  of  God  through  (the)  faith  (that  is)  in 
Christ  Jesus.  For  as  ma^ny  of  you  as  have  been  baptized  into 
Jesus  Christ  have  put  on  Chrtst."  §§ 

"  We  have  all  been  baptized  by  one  Spirit  into  one  body, 
.  .  .  and  have  been  all  made  to  drink  into  one  Spirit."  |||| 

"Behold,  what  manner  of  love  the  Father  hath  bestowed 
upon  us,  that  we  should  be  called  the  sons  of  God:  therefore 
the  world  knoweth  us  not,  because  it  knew  Him  not.  Be- 
loved, now  are  we  the  sons  of  God."  1^^ 

Here  are  many  passages  concerning  baptism,  and  all  of 
them  taken  from  the  New  Testament.  What  do  they  say? 
Do  they  not  manifestly  assert,  in  the  plain,  literal  sense,  our 

*  St.  John,  iii.  5.  f  Titus,  iii.  5.  X  I-  Peter,  iii.  20,  21. 

§  St.  Mark,  xvi.  16.  ||  Matthew,  xxviii.  19.  "[[  Acts,  ii.  38. 

**  Acts,  xxii.  16.  ft  Eph.  v.  25,  26.  W  Rom.  vi.  3. 

§§  Gal.  iii.  26, 27.  |||i  I.  Cor.  xu.  13.  H  I.  John,  iii.  1,  2. 


REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM.  329 

doctrine  of  regeneration  ?  Surely  they  do.  There  is  a  new  birth 
for  man  in  this  world.  That  birth  is  of  water  and  the  Spirit. 
By  it  we  enter  into  the  kingdom  of  God,  which  is  the  Church 
of  Christ.  We  are  saved  by  the  washing  (or  baptism)  of  regen- 
eration, and  the  renewing  of  the  Holy  Spirit.  Baptism  (the 
antitype  to  the  waters  of  Noah)  doth  now  save  us.  He  that 
has  faith  and  is  baptized  shall  be  saved.  All  men  are  to  be 
made  disciples  of  Christ,  being  baptized  by  His  apostles.  Bap- 
tism is  for  the  remission  and  washing  away  of  sins.  The 
Church  is  cleansed  by  the  washing  (identical  with  the  baptism) 
of  the  water  and  the  Word.  As  many  as  have  been  baptized 
into  Jesus  Christ,  have  put  on  Christ.  All  the  baptized  are 
the  children  of  God.  We  have  all  been  baptized  by  one  spirit, 
into  one  body.     All  the  baptized  are  sons  of  God. 

Look  over  these  plain  assei-tions.  They  lie  on  the  face  of 
the  texts  we  have  cited,  they  are  expressly  asserted  in  them. 
They  are  the  plain  sense,  the  evident  meaning  of  the  words. 
We,  with  our  doctrine,  assert  them  in  the  literal  sense.  Can 
others  do  the  same?  Must  not  they,  on  the  contrary,  deny  the 
plain  sense  of  all  these  passages?  Examine  the  doctrine  of 
baptism,  in  our  standards,  and  there  is  no  doubt  whatsoever 
(whether  you  accept  that  doctrine  or  not)  that  it  agrees  exactly 
with  the  plain,  literal  sense  of  these  passages. 

Furthermore,  all  the  facts  which  require  this  doctrine  of 
regeneration,  as  that  of  man's  wounds  and  his  losses  by  the  fall, 
his  death  in  sin,  his  casting  out  from  Paradise ;  all  these  truths, 
also,  which  declare  the  principles  upon  which  and  by  which 
regeneration  takes  place — as  the  doctrine  of  the  incarnation  of 
the  Word,  the  personality  and  divinity  of  the  Spirit,  His  mirac- 
ulous workings,  in  all  ages,  on  the  earth ;  and  the  doctrine, 
also,  of  the  sacraments,  the  doctrine  of  an  Apostolic  Church, 
of  a  living  faith,  and  a  true  repentance, — all  these  are  to  be 
found  in  as  plain  words,  in  the  New  Testament. 

And,  again,  the  various  ways  wherein  the  Apostles  ad- 
dress the  Churches  all  take  for  granted  the  doctrine  of  bap- 
tism, "that  every  one  who  is  baptized  in  the  Church  is  a 


330  REGENEEATION  IN  BAPTISM. 

member  of  Christ,  a  child  of  God,  an  inheritor  of  the  kingdom 
of  heaven." 

Is  not  that  system,  then,  the  correct  and  scriptural  sj'-stem, 
which  agrees,  in  all  respects,  with  the  plain,  literal  sense  of 
Holy  Writ,  both  as  concerns  the  doctrine  itself,  and  all  the 
subsidiary  doctrines  upon  which  it  rests  ?  For  this  challenge 
we  can  plainly  give  to  all  our  opposers, — that  not  one  passage  in 
the  New  Testament  can  be  brought,  which  our  doctrine  shall 
contradict  in  plain  terms.  But  as  for  theirs,  it  is  manifest  that 
they  begin  in  this  way :  "  We  are  not  born  of  water,  for  we  can- 
not be."  "  We  are  not  saved  by  baptism,  for  it  is  impossible." 
"Baptism  is  not  for  the  remission  of  sins — how  can  a  mere 
ceremony  remit  sin  ? "  "  We  are  not  the  sons  of  God  by  bap- 
tism, but  by  our  faith."  Any  one  who  knows  the  tone  of  the 
dissenting  pulpit  and  press,  knows  well  that  these  negations  of 
Holy  Writ,  in  express  words, — these  outrageous  denials  and 
contradictions  of  plain,  literal  assertions  that  are  in  the  Script- 
ures literally,  are  aphorisms  with  the  Calvinistic  and  Metho- 
distic  sects  among  us.  Very  good  reason,  indeed,  is  there  for 
this ;  for  if  a  man  believe  the  plain  sense  of  Holy  Writ,  in  the 
passages  we  have  cited,  his  first  business,  when  he  repents  of 
sins  and  has  faith  in  Jesus  Christ,  is  to  seek  out  the  ambassa- 
dors of  Christ,  His  commissioned  ministers,  the  clergy  of  the 
Apostolic  Succession,  and,  being  baptized  by  them,  to  enter 
thereby  the  One  Catholic  and  Apostolic  Church,  the  kingdom 
of  heaven.  All  these  denials  of  the  plain  sense  of  Scripture, 
therefore,  are,  consciously  or  unconsciously,  actual  excuses  from 
this  course  of  action,  by  which  the  man  justifies  himself  in 
staying  in  the  sect  wherein  he  happens  to  be. 

In  fact,  the  whole  thing  is  the  efiect  of  self-will  on  the  part 
of  the  popular  religionism  of  the  day.  "He  that  believeth  and 
is  baptized  shall  be  saved,"  the  Scripture  says.  The  man  cuts 
the  text  in  two.  One  half  suits  him.  With  wilful  faith  he 
takes  it  to  his  heart.  The  other  half,  with  wilful  unbelief,  he 
casts  away. 

"  If  Christ  himself,  which  giveth  salvation  (says  the  ju- 


REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM.  331 

dicious  Hooker),  doth  requirehaptism,  it  is  not  for  us,  tliat  look 
for  salvation,  to  sound  and  examine  Him  whether,  unbaptized, 
we  may  be  saved,  hut  seriously  to  do  that  which  is  required, 
and  religiously  to  fear  the  danger  which  may  grow  from  the 
want  thereof." 

"We  would  add  from  Hooker  a  most  remarkable  fact,  we  have 
before  alluded  to,  in  regard  to  the  interpretation  of  this  verse  : 
"  Except  a  man  be  born  of  water  and  of  the  Spirit,  he  cannot  en- 
ter into  the  kingdom  of  God."  He  says :  "  Of  all  the  ancients, 
there  is  not  one  to  be  named  that  did  otherwise  allege  or  ex- 
pound this  place  than  as  implying  external  baptism."  An 
assertion  identical  with  this  the  reader  will  find  in  the  passage 
of  Tholuck,  above  cited. 

Now,  we  would  desire  our  readers  to  consider  the  weight  of 
this  fact.  In  the  first  place,  let  them  think  that  the  New  Tes- 
tament is  written  originally  in  Greek.  Let  them  consider  how 
easily,  in  a  translation,  mistakes  are  made ;  how  often  verbal 
allusions,  idiomatic  terms  of  thought,  all  the  subtle  references 
and  suggestions  implied  in  the  original,  are  wholly  lost  in  any 
translation,  even  the  best.  Let  them,  therefore,  consider  what 
an  immense  advantao^e  he  has  who  reads  a  livins'  book  in  the 
original  language,  and  that  his  own  native  tongue ;  how  he 
shall  understand  it  perfectly,  sympathize  with  its  sentiments, 
feel  its  true  tone  and  drift,  and  be  moved  by  all  the  harmony 
of  its  thought  and  words ;  in  fact,  be  acted  upon  by  it  in  a 
difterent  way  entirely  from  one  who  reads  a  translation  of  it, 
even  the  best  and  ablest. 

Now,  look  at  this.  The  Christians  of  the  Greek  Church 
read  the  Scriptures  in  their  native  language,  their  mother 
tongue,  for  a  period  upward  of  twelve  hundred  years  from 
the  date  of  the  four  Gospels.  We  have,  of  that  Church,  com- 
mentaries, treatises,  eloquent  orations,  Christian  poems — all 
based  upon  the  Scriptures — from  Clemens  Romaniis  and  Igna- 
tius, in  the  first  and  second  centuries,  to  Theophylact  and  QCcu- 
meniusinthe  eleventh, — a  huge  Christian  literature  still  in  ex- 
istence of  native  Greek  authors,  reading  the  Scriptures  in  their 


332  REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM. 

own  tongue,  and  writing  upon  them  in  the  same.  The  extent  of 
that  literature  may  be  understood  when  we  merely  say  that  the 
works  of  one  of  these  writers,  St.  John  Chrysostom,  a  man  of 
genius  and  renowned  through  the  whole  Christian  world,  to  this 
day,  for  eloquence  and  learning,  are  in  thirteen  folio  volumes  ! 
From  that  one  fact,  we  may  judge  how  enormous  the  Christian 
literature  of  the  Greek  Church  is.  And  in  all  this  literature 
of  Christianity,  extending  over  twelve  hundred  years,  and  be- 
ginning with  men  who  lived  in  the  days  of  St,  John  himself, 
the  only  interpretation  of  the  passage  in  St.  John  which  speaks 
of  being  born  of  water  and  of  the  Spirit,  is  that  it  speaks  of 
Christian  baptism  ! 

We  put  this  to  our  readers,  now,  in  a  legal  and  judicial  point 
of  view.  Say,  here  is  an  authoritative  document,  written  hun- 
dreds of  years  ago.  Certain  words  occur  in  it.  There  is  no 
dispute  as  to  the  fact  that  they  are  the  very  original  words.  A 
dispute  takes  place  at  this  modern  day,  the  present  time,  as  to 
their  meaning.  If  we  can  show  that  for  so  many  hundred 
years  all  interpreters,  from  the  first,  without  exception,  in  one 
uninterrupted  stream,  agreed  in  assigning  them  one  sense,  and 
that  710  other  sense  than  this  was  ever  assigned  to  them,  is  it 
not  most  manifest  that  such  a  fact  is  the  weightiest  proof  that 
this  only  is  the  meaning, — in  fact,  nearly  an  absolutely  conclu- 
sive proof  to  that  effect  ?  Any  one  that  understands  real  in- 
terpretation must  see  that  it  is  so. 

Our  readers,  of  course,  will  understand  that  "the  ancients," 
in  the  passage  we  have  cited  from  Hooker,  includes  the  writers 
of  the  Latin  Church  through  all  Europe,  for  the  same  period 
as  well  as  the  Greeks.  This  makes  up  another  huge  Christian 
literature.  But,  although  his  assertion  is  equally  true  of  them 
also,  we  have  not  brought  them  forward,  principally  because 
they  knew  the  books  of  the  New  Testament,  not  in  their  own 
vernacular  language,  but  only  in  translations,  as  we  do.  Still, 
put  them  both  together,  and  add  to  them  the  whole  Oriental 
Church,  it  is  a  most  weighty  and  stringent  proof,  one  that  is 
well-nigh  irresistible.     And,  as  the  author  of  the  "  Plain  Com- 


REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM.  333 

inentaiy  "  says  of  the  time  since  Hooker,  "  The  result  of  the 
most  searching  inquiry  has  but  served  to  establish  the  truth  of 
this  remarkable  statement."  It  is  as  true  now  as  it  was  three 
hundred  years  ago,  in  the  time  of  Plooker,  that  "  not  one  of  the 
ancients  can  be  found  that  did  otherwise  allege  or  expound  this 
place  than  as  implying  external  baptism." 

And  Hooker  himself  gives  the  reason,  that  "  as  the  Spirit 
is  the  necessary  inward  cause,  and  water  is  the  necessary  out- 
ward means  to  our  regeneration, — both  being  appointed  by 
God,  both  being  parts  of  the  one  means  that  He  has  instituted, 
are,  therefore,  from  the  fact  of  His  ordinance,  to  be  accepted  as 
such  with  faith."  Hooker  then  proceeds  to  remark,  that  "  ex 
cept  this  be  so,  no  possihle  meaning  can  he  given  to  the  words 
that  we  are  new  born  of  water.  If  this  be  not  so,  why  are 
we  taught  that  with  water  God  doth  purify  and  cleanse  His 
Church  ?  Wherefore  do  the  apostles  of  Christ  term  baptism  a 
bath  of  regeneration  ?  What  purpose  had  they  in  giving  new 
advice  to  receive  outward  baptism,  and  in  persuading  them  that 
it  did  avail  to  remission  of  sins  ? " 

In  fact,  what  has  water  to  do  with  conversion  in  any  way  or 
in  any  sense,  literal  or  figurative,  practical  or  theoretical  ?  Is 
it  not  faith,  prayer,  fervent  zeal  on  the  part  of  the  man  who 
preaches ;  the  atonement  of  our  Blessed  Lord  and  the  grace  of 
the  Holy  Spirit  on  the  part  of  God  ;  and  heartfelt  repentance 
and  living  faith  on  the  part  of  the  converted  man,  that  com- 
plete and  make  up  conversion  ?  What  has  water  to  do  with  it 
in  any  way.  Why,  then,  should  our  Lord  use  a  term  so  un- 
meaning and  ambiguous,  so  unnecessary,  as  being  "  born  of  water 
and  of  the  Spirit  "  is,  if  there  be  no  birth  in  which  water  has  a 
part,  if  water  have,  in  the  text,  absolutely  and  really  no  mean- 
ing ?  Why  should  He  have  brought  in  a  figurative  allusion  to 
an  outward  element,  if  that  element  have  absolutely  nothing  at 
all  to  do  with  the  sense,  and  therefore  the  phrase  merely  tends 
to  deceive  and  lead  astray  ? 

Surely,  these  considerations  should  make  us  see  that  there  is 
a  "  birth  of  water  and  of  the  Spirit  "  possible,  in  this  world,  for 


334  REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM. 

man,  and  that  it  is  in  no  way  antagonist  to  the  doctrines  of 
Holy  Writ  that  God,  by  His  Son,  should  appoint,  in  baptism,  a 
certain  time,  a  definite  place,  and  a  sure,  appointed,  sacramental 
means,  whereby  the  man,  who  has  in  his  soul  true  repentance 
and  sincere  faith  and  therefore  is  converted,  should  further- 
more receive,  and  God's  Spirit  then  and  there  give  to  him 
the  great  gift  of  regeneration.  It  is  on  the  face  of  the  Script- 
ures. We  receive  it  and  believe  it.  And  so  did  the  whole 
Church  of  God,  one  and  all,  for  fifteen  hundred  years,  until  the 
time  of  Zuingli  and  Calvin. 

And,  furthermore,  we  are  utterly  unable  to  comprehend 
how  they,  who  so  persistently  and  obstinately  rule  out  the  plain 
literal  sense  in  this  passage,  and  assert  that  the  word  "water" 
is  in  it  purely  figurative,  can  uphold  water  baptism  in  any  way, 
or  find  anything  in  the  Bible  to  authorize  its  use.  Surely,  the 
grounds  that  they  take  here  should,  in  connection  with  that 
other  passage — "  I  indeed  baptize  you  with  water  unto  repen- 
tance :  but  He  that  cometh  after  me  is  mightier  than  I :  .  .  .  He 
shall  baptize  you  with  the  Holy  Ghost,  and  with  fire  "* — enable 
them,  nay,  compel  and  force  them,  to  forego  and  dismiss  alto- 
gether any  use  of  water  in  baptism  ;  in  fact,  any  baptism  at  all, 
except  the  outpouring  of  the  illuminating  and  life-giving  fire 
of  God's  Spirit  upon  believing  and  repentant  souls.  They 
should  adopt  the  Quaker  system,  and  have  no  water  baptism. 

And,  on  the  other  hand,  the  fact  that  these  people  do 
adhere,  however  inconsistently  and  illogically,  to  baptism  by 
water,  nay,  to  infant  baptism  itself, — this  holds  out  to  us  the 
hope  that  they  will  yet  come  to  see  and  understand  the  doctrine 
which  alone  reconciles  the  plain  literal  sense  of  Holy  Writ 
with  their  own  practice,  and  embrace  it  and  acknowledge  it 
and  act  upon  it. 

But,  as  we  would  not  (for  the  satisfaction  of  our  readers) 
rest  the  criticism  of  this  passage  only  upon  our  own  interpre- 
tation— although  they  can  evidently  see  that  we  take  the  plain 
and  manifest  meaning,  and  the  evident  and  literal  sense — we 
*  St.  Matthew,  iii.  11. 


REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM.  335 

shall  cite  critics  of  authority  and  reputation,  both  in  and  out 
of  the  Church.  The  first  we  shall  adduce  is  the  "  Plain  Com- 
mentary '•  : 

"  5th  verse.  'Jesus  answered,  Verily,  verily,  I  say  unto 
thee.  Except  a  man  be  born  of  water  and  of  the  Spirit,  he  can- 
not enter  into  the  kingdom  of  God. ' 

"As  if  lie  said,  thou  understandest  me  to  speak  of  a  carnal 
birth  ;  but  a  man  must  be  born  of  water  and  of  the  Spirit,  if  he 
is  to  enter  into  the  kingdom  of  God.  If,  to  obtain  the  temporal 
inheritance  of  his  human  lather,  a  man  must  be  born  of  the 
womb  of  his  mother ;  to  obtain  the  eternal  inheritance  of  his 
Heavenly  Father,  he  must  be  born  of  the  womb  of  the  Church. 
And,  since  man  consists  of  two  parts,  body  and  soul,  the  mode, 
even  of  this  latter  birth,  is  twofold  :  Water  is  the  visible  part, 
cleansing  the  body ;  the  Spirit,  by  His  invisible  cooperation, 
changing  the  invisible  soul.  Consider  the  truly  Catholic  state- 
ments on  this  subject  contained  in  our  Church  Catechism.  It 
will  be  remembered  that  the  Church  of  England,  in  her  Bap- 
tismal Service,  expressly  grounds  the  necessity  of  baptism  on 
the  present  declaration  of  our  Lord.  '  Except  a  man  be  born 
of  water  and  of  the  Spirit,  he  cannot  enter  into  the  kingdom 
of  God.'  Famous  words !  which  it  has  been  the  endeavor  of 
misguided  men  to  set  aside  or  explain  away.  Opposing  them- 
selves to  externals  in  religion  generally,  and  to  the  two  sacra- 
ments of  the  Church  in  particular,  sectarians  have  sought  to 
fasten  a  strange  sense  on  these  plain  words  of  Christ ;  contend- 
ing eagerly,  indeed,  for  the  bestowal  of  God's  gift  (the  Spirit), 
wdiile  they  have  striven  to  make  it  appear  that  the  duty  required 
on  man's  side  (the  water)  can  be  a  matter  of  no  real  impor- 
tance." * 

We  go  on,  furthermore,  to  give,  from  Mant  and  D'Oyly, 
some  additional  comments  and  remarks  upon  this  passage, 
extracted  from  great  theologians  of  the  English  Church : 

"  That  our  Lord  here  speaks  of  baptismal  regeneration,  the 

*  "  Plain  Commentary,"  upon  St.  Joliu,  iii.  3-5. 


336  EEGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM. 

whole  Christian  Church,  from  its  earliest  times,  has  invariably 
taught."  * 

"  Baptism  is  a  new  birth,  by  M^hich  we  enter  into  the  new 
world,  the  new  creation,  the  blessings  and  spiritualities  of  the 
kingdom.  And  this  is  the  expression  which  our  Lord  himself 
uses  to  Nicodemus :  '  Except  a  man  be  born  of  water  and  of 
the  Spirit;'  it  is  called,  also,  by  St.  Paul,  'the  laver  of  regen- 
eration,' For  now  we  begin  to  be  reckoned  in  a  new  account. 
God  is  become  our  Father,  Christ  our  elder  brother,  the  Spirit 
the  earnest  of  our  inheritance,  the  Church  our  mother;  our 
food  is  the  body  and  blood  of  our  Lord,  faith  is  our  learning, 
religion  our  employment ;  our  whole  life  is  spiritual,  heaven 
the  object  of  our  hopes,  and  the  mighty  prize  of  our  high 
calling."  t 

"  But  these,  it  will  be  said,  are  old  commentators ;  what  say 
the  new  ?  Has  not  the  sifting  biblical  criticism  of  modern 
times  shaken  the  sacramental  meaning  of  these  texts  ?  So  far, 
from  this,  we  have  three  commentaries  on  the  Greek  Testament, 
published  by  the  most  eminent  scholars  of  England,  within  the 
last  five  years.  We  allude  to  Wordsworth,  Alford,  and  Ellicott, 
and  these  men  interpret  all  this  jjassage,  and  all  the  other  hap- 
tismal passages  in  the  New  Testament,  of  regeneration  and 
haptism,  just  as  Hooker,  Jeremy  Taylor,  Beveridge,  AVhitby, 
and  Mant  have  done.  And  yet  these  men  are  alive  to  every 
variety  of  reading  that  the  industry  of  such  men  as  Tischen- 
dorf  and  Lachmann  have  brought  to  light,  fully  aware  of  every 
variety  of  interpretation  suggested  by  German  philology.  Ration- 
alistic, Reformed,  or  Lutheran.  Still  is  their  interpretation  the 
same  as  their  great  English  predecessors,  the  same  as  that  of 
the  whole  Church  Catholic  for  fifteen  hundred  years.''''  \ 

We  proceed,  therefore,  to  give  some  extracts  from  Dr. 
Wordsworth's  commentary,  and  Dean  Alford's.  Bishop  Elli- 
cott's  commentaries  we  do  not  possess.  Wordsworth's  review 
of  the  third  of  St.  John  will  be  found  worth  reading : 

*  Whitby,  in  his  Commentary.  f  Jeremy  Taylor. 

\  Sadler's  tract,  on  the  meaning  of  the  word  Regeneration, 


REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM.  337 

"  The  Evangelist  had  begun  his  Gospel  by  declaring  the 
eternal  Godhead  of  Christ  (i.  1-10),  and  His  incarnation  (i. 
14),  and  the  reasons  of  it,  namely,  that  by  our  adoption  into 
Him,  and  union  with  Him,  we  might  become  sons  of  God 
(i.  12).  He  had  described  the  Epiphany  (or  manifestation)  of 
Christ's  Divinity  (ii.  1-10),  made  more  striking  by  its  contrast 
with  His  humanity,  derived  from  the  Yirgin  Mary  (v.  4),  and" 
he  had  showed  Christ  cleansing  His  Father's  house  by  the 
majesty  of  His  presence  and  power,  and  foretelling  that  He 
would  die  as  man.^  and  raise  Himself  as  God  (v.  19). 

"He  then  proceeds  to  describe  His  conversation  with 
Nicodemus,  the  Pharisee,  who  had  been  led  by  Christ's 
miracles  to  acknowledge  that  our  Lord  was  "  a  teacher  come 
from  God  (iii.  2).  But  Nicodemus,  not  being  as  yet  enlightened 
by  Divine  Grace,  had  no  faith  in  His  Divinity,  and  did  not  feel 
his  own  need  of  regeneration. 

"  Our  Lord,  desiring  to  elevate  him  to  a  higher  degree  of 
faith,  proceeds  to  teach  him  that  this  new  birth  from  above  is 
to  be  effected  by  water  and  the  Holy  Ghost.  Do  not  be  sur- 
prised because  you  do  not  understand  how  this  is  to  be.  You 
do  not  see  whence  the  wind  comes,  but  you  see  its  effects.  So 
in  spiritual  things :  you  do  not  see  how  regeneration  takes 
place,  but  you  may  see  its  fruits." 

On  turning  back  to  Dr.  Wordsworth's  commentary  on  the 
chapter,  we  find  these  remarks : 

"  Yerse  4.  ''How  can  a  man  he  horn  ivhen  he  is  old  ? ' 
This  questioning  '  how  f '  is  of  the  natural  man  (I.  Cor.  ii.  14), 
and  is  characteristic  of  a  weak  faith  and  an  earthly  mind,  and 
many,  by  putting  such  questions  as  to  the  manner  of  God's 
operations  on  the  soul,  have  fallen  from  the  faith.  If  a  person 
ask.  How  is  a  man  born  again  hy  water  ?  let  us  ask,  in  return, 
Hoio  was  Adam  born  from  the  earth  f  How  are  our  bones, 
and  sinews,  and  veins,  and  all  our  organs  formed  ?  In  both 
cases  the  work  is  God's,  whose  the  elements  are,  to  work  upon 
them,  and  by  them,  according  to  His  will. 

"  If  the  earth  is  endued  with  such  power  that  such  marvels 
22 


338  REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM. 

as  we  see  every  day  are  produced  from  it,  so,  in  like  manner, 
when  the  Holy  Spirit  is  present  with  the  water,  the  marvels 
which  exceed  our  comprehension  are  easily  performed.  The 
element  of  water  is  there,  but  the  whole  work  is  wrought  by 
the  grace  of  the  Holy  Ghost.  By  the  second  creation  from 
water,  the  old  man  is  buried  in  the  water  as  in  a  tomb,  and 
the  new  man  rises  from  it." 

On  the  fifth  verse.  Dr.  Wordsworth  continues,  citing  from 
St.  Augustine: 

"  As  the  Israelites  were  not  delivered  from  the  Egyptians 
before  they  came  to  the  Red  Sea,  so  none  can  be  freed  from  the 
pressure  of  his  sins  before  he  comes  to  the  waters  of  baptism. 
And  if  the  Red  Sea,  the  figure  of  baptism,  had  such  a  virtue 
as  it  had,  how  great  is  the  power  of  baptism  of  which  the  Red 
Sea  was  a  type ! " 

Again,  Dr.  Wordsworth  says :  "  Surely  it  is  a  significant 
circumstance  that  St.  John's  Gospel  abounds  with  references 
to  the  element  of  water.  Here  the  son  of  Zacharias  comes  bap- 
tizing with  water.  Our  Lord's  first  miracle  is  here  wrought 
upon  water ;  water  is  changed  by  Him  into  wine.  Here,  He 
declares  to  Nicodemus  that  '  Except  a  man  be  born  of  water 
and  of  the  Spirit,  he  cannot  enter  into  the  kingdom  of  God ' 
(iii.  5).  He  is  in  Judea,  and  baptizes  with  water  (iii.  22). 
Here,  He  sits  at  the  well  of  Sychar  and  first  reveals  Himself  as 
the  Messias  (iv.  1-26).  Here,  He  promises  the  gift  of  living 
water  (iv.  10-14).  Here,  He  comes  to  Jerusalem,  to  the  pool 
of  water  called  Bethesda,  and  heals  the  impotent  man  there 
(v.  1-8).  He  walks  on  the  water  of  the  sea  of  Galilee  (vi.  18), 
and  comes  to  the  disciples  in  the  storm.  He  comes  again  to  Jeru- 
salem at  the  Feast  of  Tabernacles,  and  cries,  '  If  any  man  thirst, 
let  him  come  unto  Me  and  drink.  He  that  believeth  on  Me, 
as  the  Scripture  hath  said,  out  of  his  belly  shall  flow  rivers  of 
living  water '  (vii.  37, 38).  Here,  He  sends  the  blind  man  to  wash 
in  the  waters  of  Siloam,  and  the  blind  man  returns  seeing  (ix.  7). 
At  the  Paschal  supper  He  here  pours  water  into  a  basin  and 
washes  His  disciples'  feet  (xiii.  5-10).     At  His  crucifixion  His 


REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM.  339 

side  is  pierced,  and  'forthwith  came  there  out  blood  and 
water '  (xix.  34.)  After  His  resurrection  He  shows  Himself 
to  His  disciples  at  the  sea  of  Galilee,  and  the  only  miracle  which 
He  is  recorded  to  have  worked,  after  He  was  risen,  was  wrought 
there.  As  Tertullian  says,  Nuixqtimn  sine  aqua  Christus. 
And  this  is  specially  true  of  our  Lord's  acts  and  speeches,  as 
recorded  in  St.  John's  Gospel.  Many  of  the  incidents  first 
noticed  are  recorded  in  this  Gospel  only.  This  is  in  harmony 
with  the  belief  that  the  natural  element  of  water  is  declared  in 
this  Gospel  to  be  made  by  Christ  the  means  for  conveying 
spiritual  grace. 

"  If  there  are  any  who  doubt  whether  Christ — who  knew 
what  he  would  do  (John,  vi.  6),  and  foresaw,  not  only  His  own 
institution  of  the  sacrament  of  baptism,  but  every  baptism  that 
has  ever  been  administered  in  the  Church — referred  here  to 
the  holy  sacrament  of  baptism,  let  them  read  the  words  of 
Hooker  (Y.  xix),  and  consider  the  use  made  of  this  Scripture 
by  the  Church  of  England  in  her  Ofiices  for  Baptism  of  Infants, 
and  of  those  of  riper  years." 

We  proceed,  now,  to  give  the  criticism  upon  this  passage 
from  the  Greek  Testament,  of  Henry  Alford,  the  Dean  of 
Canterbury.  He  is  not  what  we  should  call  a  High  Church- 
man in  any  way ;  but  the  natural  force  of  the  Scripture  itself, 
with  his  keen  sense  of  the  influence  of  motive  in  determining 
opinion,  compels  him  to  assert  the  plain  and  manifest  sense  of 
the  words. 

We  go  on  to  give  his  commentary  upon  a  part  of  the  pas- 


"  St.  John,  iii.  5.  Our  Lord  passes  by  the  question  of  Nico- 
demus  without  notice ;  further  than  that,  this.  His  second  asser- 
tion, takes,  as  it  were,  the  ground  from  under  it,  by  explaining 
the  token  and  means  of  the  new  birth. 

"  There  can  be  no  doubt,  on  any  honest  interpretation  of 
the  words,  that  Ytvvrjdr^vcu  £$  udaroi;  (to  be  born  of  water),  to 
be  born  refers  to  the  token,  or  outward  sign  of  baptism  ;  ^evvjy- 
drjvac  ex  TzveujuaToi;  (of  the  Spirit),  to  the  thing  signified,  or  inward 


340  REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM. 

grace  of  the  Holy  Spirit.  All  attempts  to  get  rid  of  these  two 
plain  facts  have  sj)rung  froTn  doctrinal  jyt'ejuclices,  hv  which 
the  views  of  expositors  have  been  warped.  Such  we  have  in 
Calvin,  Grotius,  Cocceius,  Lampe,  and  others,  who  endeavor  to 
resolve  odazo<;  xac  TzveuixaToc;  (of  water  and  the  Spirit)  into  a 
figure  of  hendiadys,  so  as  to  make  it  mean  the  '  cleansing  or 
purifying  Spirit.'  "  * 

With  this  last  testimony  we  close  our  extracts  from  com- 
mentators upon  these  words  of  our  Lord  to  Nicodemus.  Our 
doctrine  is  upon  the  face  of  Holy  Writ  manifestly,  and  the  truth, 
that  upon  earth  man  can,  by  baptism,  become  most  truly  the  son 
of  God,  if  he  only  have  repentance  and  faith  in  God,  through 
Jesus  Christ  our  Lord.  And  this  assured  and  certain  faith  of 
the  Scriptures,  and  our  standards,  can  be  carried  out  in  an  all- 
embracing,  wide-extended  life  of  holiness  and  truth,  in  all  the 
pathways  of  life.  If  we  are  actually  and  really  sons  of  God,  with 
.the  life  of  Christ  living  and  abiding  in  us  organically,  with  the 
kingdom  of  heaven  around  us,  in  a  new  world  of  heavenly  in- 
fluences,— all  this  enforces  upon  us  and  demands  of  us  a  con- 
scious and  earnest  growth  in  all  that  is  like  Christ ;  inward 
control  over  all  our  passions  and  emotions,  even  over  all  our 
thoughts ;  inward  prayer  and  faith,  outward  good  works  to- 
ward God  and  man,  steady  belief  in  the  truth,  persistent  hope 
and  love.  All  this,  if  we  believe  in  our  regeneration  in  this 
world  through  Christ,  should  flow  from  that  fact  and  that  belief. 
Let  our  children  be  baptized  in  infancy,  as  this  doctrine  im- 
plies and  requires,  and  be  trained  up  and  educated  as  children 
of  God.  As  children  of  God  together,  let  the  husband  and 
the  wife  sanctify  their  household  and  their  home  as  a  temple  of 
God.  Let  us  walk  in  this  world  as  the  sons  of  God.  For 
truth,  and  justice,  and  honesty,  and  pity,  and  benevolence,  and 
purity  of  hfe,  and  singleness  of  motives, — these,  in  Christian 
men  and  women,  are  the  fruits  of  the  Christian  life  and  of 
Christian  principles ;  these  all  men  can  understand  and  feel.    In 

*  Alford,  in  loco. 


REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM.  341 

our  humanity  is  the  root  and  germ  of  all  these,  but  it  is  only 
in  our  sonship  in  Christ  that  these  are  perfected. 

One  thing  more  to  the  members  of  the  Church  we  would 
say.  Only  here,  in  this  land,  has  the  course  of  all  evils  and 
corruptions  to  the  Church — the  union  of  the  Church  with  the 
State — been  cast  away.  Only  for  eighty  years  has  the  Church 
been  delivered  from  the  long  bondage  of  fourteen  centuries. 
Hardly  yet  do  we  move  freely,  and  look  about  us  confidently, 
in  the  open  brightness  of  the  free  daylight.  Some  of  us,  even 
yet,  like  Calvin  and  Luther  of  old  under  the  tyranny  of  the 
popes  and  the  supremacy  of  monarchs  and  feudal  nobles,  can 
hardly  believe  that  there  is  a  Church  at  all  in  existence  in  this 
world.  But  we  are  free ;  the  sense  of  the  necessity  and  the  fact 
of  a  Church  is  awakening  and  spreading, — it  is  dawning  upon 
all  hearts.  Let  us,  then,  who  have  the  Church,  and  are  within 
it,  uphold  tliese  doctrines  practically,  by  a  pure  and  holy  life 
and  a  living  faith. 

And  then  we  may  meet  the  odious  sneers  and  doubts  of 
unbelievers  with  the  assertion  that  we  believe  in  the  doctrine 
of  regeneration  in  baptism,  because  it  is  asserted  by  our  blessed 
Lord  himself,  in  His  own  words  to  ^Nicodemus;  because  their 
meaning  was  never  doubted  in  the  Christian  Church  by  any 
one,  or  any  different  interpretation  from  this  given,  until 
Zuingli,  in  the  fifteenth  century ;  because  it  is  the  plain 
sense  of  the  Prayer  Book,  in  all  its  parts ;  because  it  is  the 
very  centre  of  all  Christian  doctrine,  asserted  most  plainly,  and 
universally  taken  for  granted  and  implied,  in  the  whole  of  the 
New  Testament ;  because  it  is  the  basis  of  a  Christian  morality 
of  the  highest  kind.  And  finally,  from  it,  carried  out  practi- 
cally and  consistently  in  the  Church  and  in  the  family,  is  capa- 
ble of  arising  and  growing  and  coming  to  maturity, — a  state 
of  Christian  holiness  and  love  and  purity  which  for  fourteen 
hundred  years  the  world  has  not  seen. 

For  it  was  only  when  the  Church  was  taken  captive,  and 
enslaved  by  the  State,  and  oppressed  by  corrupt  and  vile  kings, 
and  feudal  nobles,  and  ministers  of  State,  and  politicians  with 


342  BEGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM. 

a  single  eye  to  their  own  interests, — only  when  the  papal  system 
became  completely  corrupt  in  Europe, — that  Christians  upon  the 
continent  of  Europe  were  driven  to  despair  of,  to  doubt,  and 
finally  to  deny  the  powers  and  privileges,  and  even  the  existence 
of  the  Church.  And  then  the  isolated  and  individual  man 
and  his  destiny,  or  else  his  mere  personal  faith,  became  the 
centres  of  systems,  the  all-in-all  of  honest  theories  of  doctrine. 
But,  by  the  great  mercy  of  God,  the  Church  of  His  Son  is  free, 
it  is  in  existence  here.  It  shall  grow  in  zeal,  in  lioliness,  in 
purity,  in  truth.  And  then,  once  again  in  the  Church  shall 
they  who  are  sons  be  able  to  feel  that  saying  true  which  St. 
Paul  addressed  to  a  whole  national  Church,  "  For  ye  are  all 
the  sons  of  God,  through  the  faith  in  Christ  Jesus.  For  ye  (as 
many  as  have  been  baptized  into  Christ)  have  put  on  Christ. 
In  Him  there  is  neither  Jew  nor  Greek,  neither  bond  nor 
free,  neither  male  nor  female :  for  ye  are  all  one  in  Christ 
Jesus.  And  if  ye  are  Christ's,  then  are  ye  Abraham's  seed, 
and  heirs  according  to  the  promise."  *  Once  again :  for  the 
Church  and  her  sons,  each  baptized  Christian  will  be  able  to 
give,  for  himself  and  his  brethren,  the  glorious  answer  which, 
in  the  midst  of  the  free  ages  of  the  Gospel,  the  martyr  Blan- 
dina,f  a  woman  and  a  slave,  gave  to  those  who  tortured  her  : 
{^^  Xpcazcavij  iific  xac  nap  rjiicv  dudku  ipauXov  ycyueToc^^)  "  I  am  a 
Christian,  and  with  us  nothing  evil  is  done." 

*  Gal.  iii.  26-29.  f  A.D.  177. 


CHAPTER  III. 

Whatevee  doubt  there  may  be  upon  any  other  point  in  the 
New  Testament,  there  is  none  upon  this, — that  our  Saviour  gave 
a  commission  to  His  apostles.  It  lies  on  the  face  of  the  New 
Testament,  patent  and  plain  to  the  ordinary  reader.  The  words 
authorize  and  enjoin  duties  to  which  the  apostles  were  before 
incompetent ;  they  convey  authority,  they  assign  and  impart 
distinct  and  specified  powers  to  certain  persons,  and  therefore 
shut  out  all  others.  That  the  Saviour  gave  a  commission  to 
His  apostles,  to  them  as  such,  and  to  them  only  and  exclusively, 
is  evident  on  the  very  face  of  the  words. 

Socrates  might  leave  to  his  disciples  the  treasure  of  mani- 
fold philosophic  views  and  ideas,  which  he  had  wrought  out  by 
the  meditation  of  his  whole  life  ;  Plato  and  Aristotle,  their 
manuscript  treatises  upon  science,  to  be  read  and  studied  by  their 
disciples ;  but  here  is  a  course  of  action  prescribed  in  a  definite 
and  exact  form  of  words,  embracing  the  whole  world, — a  king- 
dom to  be  established  in  all  nations,  and  means  of  entrance  into 
that  kingdom  given.  The  apostles  are  to  proclaim  (preach) 
that  kingdom  ;  they  are  to  make  disciples  for  it,  out  of  all 
nations ;  they  are  to  teach  them  to  'believe  and  to  do  all  things 
that  they  have  learned  of  Him.  And  in  strict  accordance  with 
the  assertion  that  "  Except  a  man  be  born  of  water  and  of  the 
Spirit,  he  cannot  enter  into  the  kingdom  of  God,"  the  centre 
of  that  commission  is  the  power  and  the  authority  to  baptize. 

And  most  expressive  and  significant  it  is  of  the  position  that 
baptism  holds  in  the  Christian  system,  that  the  baptismal  form 
is  given  by  Christ,  in  express  and  prescribed  words ;  no  power 
of  change,  verbal  or  material,  being  permitted  to  the  agents. 
There  may  be  some  variation  in  preaching,  in  accordance  with 


344  REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM. 

national  temper  and  feeling;  some  variety  in  teaching,  according 
to  character :  the  Greek  requiring  one  class,  the  rude  and  igno- 
rant barbarian — German,  Celt,  or  Sclavon — another  ;  a  neces- 
sary variation  in  the  mode  of  teaching  the  essential  and  unchang- 
ing principles  of  the  Gospel ;  but  all,  without  exception,  are  to 
be  baptized  in  the  same  invariable  form  of  words,  with  the 
same  element  of  water.  All  persons,  in  all  ages  of  the  world, 
must  enter  the  kingdom  of  God  by  the  same  baptism,  the  same 
new  birth  of  water  and  of  the  Spirit. 

What  an  intensity  of  meaning,  what  an  overpowering 
weight,  is  added  to  this  by  the  further  declaration — "  He  that 
believeth  and  is  baptized  shall  be  saved  ;  but  he  that  disbe- 
lieveth  shall  be  damned,"  *  Surely,  in  this  commission  there  is 
a  deiiniteness  and  precision,  an  exactitude  of  persons  commis- 
sioned, of  powers  given,  and  of  duties  enjoined ;  nay,  of  the 
sacramental  form,  both  words  and  mattei*,  which  by  no  means 
corresponds  with  the  vague  philosophizing  concerning  Christ 
and  His  Gospel,  which  Germans,  EngHsh,  and  French  have  of 
late  indulged  in, — men  who  think  nothing  liberal  except  it  be 
loose  and  careless.  Surely  these  theorizers  must  finally  advance 
to  the  conclusion  that  this  whole  matter  of  the  commission  to 
the  apostles  is  very  exclusive,  in  fact,  highly  illiberal  and  pros- 
criptive  and  denunciatory,  as  undoubtedly  it  is,  on  any  other 
doctrine  but  this  only, — that  the  speaker  was  the  God-man,  the 
Saviour  and  Redeemer  of  the  world,  and  His  baptism  the  new 
birth  into  a  new  and  heavenly  life. 

Our  readers  must  see,  therefore,  what  a  significant  and  pe- 
culiar position  the  commission  to  baptize  holds  on  the  pages  of 
Holy  Writ  in  reference  to  the  exegesis  of  the  doctrine  of  bap- 
tism. He,  himself,  declares  what  His  baptism  was  to  be, — a 
birth  into  His  kingdom.  In  the  commission,  its  objects  and 
purposes,  the  persons  to  administer  it,  its  extent,  its  form,  all 
are  defined  and  prescribed  by  Him  with  authority.  We  see, 
therefore,  all  that  He  authorized  it  to  be.  And,  again,  in  the 
Acts  and  in  the  Epistles  we  have  the  practice  under  the  com- 
*  St.  Mark,  xvi.  16. 


REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM.  345 

mission.  We  have  in  these,  the  historic  and  doctrinal  com- 
mentaries of  practice  upon  it,  by  the  very  men  that  received 
it. 

We  go  on,  now,  to  lay  before  our  readers  these  facts  from 
the  New  Testament.  Here  is,  first,  the  commission  given  to 
the  apostles  by  their  Lord : 

"  Jesus  came  and  spake  unto  them,  saying,  All  power  is 
given  unto  Me  in  heaven  and  in  earth.  Go  ye.  therefore,  and 
make  disciples  of  all  nations,  baptizing  them  in  the  name  of  the 
Father,  and  of  the  Son,  and  of  the  Holy  Ghost :  teaching 
them  to  observe  (rather  to  keep,  rripziv)  all  things  whatsoever 
I  have  commanded  you  :  and,  lo,  I  am  with  you  alway,  even 
unto  the  end  of  the  world.     Amen."  * 

Again,  in  St.  Mark's  Gospel,  it  is,  "  Go  ye  into  all  the 
world,  and  preach  (proclaim)  the  Glad  Tidings  to  every  nation. 
He  that  believeth  and  is  baptized  shall  be  saved  ;  but  he  that 
disbelieveth  shall  be  damned."  f 

Again,  in  St.  John,  "  Then  said  Jesus  to  them.  Peace  be 
unto  you :  as  My  Father  hath  sent  Me,  so  send  I  you.  And 
when  He  had  said  this,  He  breathed  on  them,  and  saith  unto 
them,  Receive  ye  the  Holy  Ghost.  Whose  soever  sins  ye  remit, 
they  are  remitted  unto  them  ;  whose  soever  sins  ye  retain  they 
are  retained."  X 

Again,  in  St.  Luke,  "  Thus  it  is  written,  and  thus  it  be- 
hooved the  Christ  to  suffer,  and  to  rise  from  the  dead  the  third 
day :  and  that  repentance  and  remission  of  sins  should  be 
preached  (proclaimed)  in  His  name  among  all  nations,  begin- 
ning at  Jerusalem.  And  ye  are  witnesses  of  these  things. 
And  behold  I  send  the  promise  of  My  Father  upon  j^ou."  § 

N^ow,  let  us  look  here.  A  commission  is  given  unto  men  from 

the  Incarnate  Son  of  God.     "As  My  Father  hath  sent  Me,  so 

send  I  you."     The  power  of  that  commission  is — "  Receive  ye 

the  Holy  Ghost."     The  result  is — "  Whose  soever  sins  ye  remit, 

they  are  remitted  unto  them,  whose  soever  sins  ye  i-etain  they 

*  St.  Mat.  xxviii.  18-20.  f  St.  Mark,  xvi.  15,  16. 

X  St.  John,  XX.  21-23.  §  St.  Luke,  xxiv.  46-49. 


346  REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM. 

are  retained."  This  power  and  commission  comes  from  the 
fact  that  all  power  is  given  to  the  God-man  in  heaven  and 
earth.  That  He  is  the  Christ,  the  Messiah,  the  Eternal  Son  of 
God,  and  has  suffered  and  risen.  And,  therefore,  "  Lo,  I  am 
with  you  alway  unto  the  end  of  the  world."  His  power  there- 
fore, His  Spirit,  His  personal  presence  as  our  Prophet,  Priest, 
and  King,  are  given  here  upon  earth,  as  an  actual  and  rea^ 
source  of  authority  to  those  unto  whom  He  has  given  a  commis- 
sion so  extraordinary,  so  astounding. 

For,  look  these  passages  plainly  in  the  face  ;  what  do  they 
mean  ?  Are  they  merely  florid,  Oriental  metaphors,  used  to 
express  the  moral  influences  of  a  fervent  declaration  of  the 
principles  of  natural  religion,  by  earnest-minded  men  ?  No, 
certainly  they  are  not.  They  are  plain,  and  what  we  should 
call  prosaic  and  unimpassioned  asseverations  by  the  writers 
of  the  fact  of  a  commission  investing  men  as  His  apostles,  with 
powers  supernatural  and  miraculous. 

And  this  commission  receives  its  sole  justification  in  the 
way  of  sense  and  reason,  from  the  supernatural  facts  asserted 
in  the  Holy  Scriptures  of  Christ  our  Lord,  that  He  is  the 
"  Eternal  Word,"  begotten  from  everlasting,  "God  from  God, 
very  God  from  very  God,  of  one  being  with  the  Father  ;  "  that, 
by  the  power  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  He  was  incarnate  of  the 
Yirgin,  and  became  man,  so  that  two  whole  and  perfect  natures, 
the  Godhead  and  the  manhood,  were  in  this  world  joined  to- 
gether in  one  person,  never  to  be  separated  ;  and  that  here,  upon 
earth.  He  became,  in  a  true  and  veritable  sense,  a  sacrifice  and 
atonement  for  the  sins  of  the  whole  human  race  to  the  end  of 
time.  And  then,  that  after  His  resurrection.  He  truly  ascended 
into  heaven,  with  His  flesh  and  bones,  and  everything  pertaining 
to  the  perfection  of  man's  nature  ;  so  that,  forever  He  is  man,  for- 
ever He  is  God,  in  one  person,  reigning,  interceding,  mediating, 
till  the  end  of  the  world.  Take  all  these  as  facts — a  supernat- 
ural, miraculous  chain  of  connected,  harmonious  facts — let  down 
from  heaven  to  earth,  beginning  with  that  one  fact,  "  The 
Word  was  made  flesh  and  dwelt  among  us,"  and  all  things  in 


REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM.  347 

the  commission  follow  by  a  natural  sequence.  Deny  them,  or 
any  one  of  them,  and  all  this  commission  means  nothing. 
Any  amount  of  arbitrary  rhetorical  wresting  of  its  words  will 
then  be  required  to  bring  out  of  it  a  reasonable  sense. 

We  take  the  supernatural  assertion  as  the  plain  sense,  and 
at  once  behold  the  "  God-man,"  risen  from  the  dead,  to  whom 
all  power  is  given  in  heaven  and  earth,  giving  His  apostles 
a  commission  to  do  a  miraculous  and  supernatural  work  on. 
the  earth,  and  investing  them,  therefore,  with  the  supernatural 
and  miraculous  powers  necessary  thereunto.  This  is  the  plain 
sense  of  these  passages,  if  they  have  any  sense  at  all. 

The  apostles  are  to  go  over  the  whole  world,  they  are  to 
proclaim  the  Glad  Tidings  (to  preach  the  Gospel)  of  Christ  to 
every  creature.  They  are  to  make  disciples  of  all  nations,  bap- 
tizing them  in  the  name  of  the  Father,  and  of  the  Son,  and  of 
the  Holy  Ghost.  Whose  sins  they  remit,  they  are  remitted ; 
whose  sins  they  retain,  they  are  retained.  "  He  that  believeth 
and  is  baptized  shall  be  saved ;  he  that  disbelieveth  shall  be 
damned."  This  is  their  astounding  task,  their  grand  commis- 
sion. And  their  authority  and  guarantee  is  this :  "  And  lo,  I 
am  with  you  alway,  even  unto  the  end  of  the  world." 

Man  is  no  longer  left  to  mere  nature,  no  longer  to  the  unas- 
sisted Law,  great  and  glorious  as  that  is,  for  a  sacrifice  and 
atonement  has  been  offered  for  him.  The  Most  High  God, 
who  has  offered  that  sacrifice,  is  forever  close  by  him.  Man  is 
no  longer  left  to  the  darkness  of  his  nature,  for  his  Prophet  is 
perpetually  present.  His  King,  with  His  royal  Law,  and  His 
supernatural  powers,  omniscient  and  omnipotent,  is  close  by 
him.  And  that  all  this  may  be  enjoyed — that  there  may  be  no 
doubt  upon  it — the  kingdom  of  heaven  has  come  down  and 
taken  its  place  upon  the  earth.  That  which  is  above  nature, 
supernatural,  is  here  in  the  world,  in  the  midst  of  nature. 
The  work  of  God,  of  Christ,  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  is  done,  here 
upon  the  earth,  in  His  Church,  amidst  the  facts  of  time  and 
space,  at  precise  and  distinct  times,  and  by  the  means  of  human 
beings,  and  even  of  material  things. 


348  REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM. 

First,  then,  of  all  these  supernatural  facts  is  this  one  :  the 
apostles,  as  commissioned  by  their  Lord,  baptized  believing 
men  in  the  name  of  the  Father,  and  of  the  Son,  and  of  the 
Holy  Ghost.  And,  again,  they  that  believe,  and  are  baptized, 
are  saved.  And  why  ?  Because  heaven  and  earth,  God  and 
man,  are  united  in  this  work.  On  the  part  of  heaven,  there  is 
the  Son  of  God,  incarnate  and  glorified,  Iliinself  present,  Him- 
self forgiving  sins,  Himself  giving  grace,  Himself  admitting 
into  His  Holy  Catholic  Cliurch  on  earth,  and  giving  us,  Him- 
self, the  adoption  of  sons.*  On  the  part  of  earth,  there  is  the 
faith  and  repentance  of  the  recipient,  the  commission  of  the 
minister,  the  appointed  use  of  the  baptismal  water  and  the 
baptismal  words ;  both  the  heavenly  and  the  earthly  uniting 
for  man's  salvation  in  the  Church  of  God.  And,  therefore,  it 
is  that  the  Church  itself  participates  in  this  twofold  character ; 
at  one  and  the  same  time  it  is  a  society  visible  in  the  world,  and 
it  is,  also,  the  kingdom  of  God  upon  the  earth.  Such,  also,  is 
baptism,  the  initial  sacrament  of  the  kingdom ;  spiritual  be- 
cause it  is  of  the  Spirit  of  Christ,  and  because  man  is  a  Spirit, 
— material,  because  man  is,  also,  of  matter,  and  occurring  at  a 
definite  point  in  time  and  space, — because  these  are  the  condi- 
tions of  man's  present  existence  here  upon  the  earth. 

Forever,  therefore,  in  the  Church  of  God,  the  Spirit  and 
the  water  combine  in  the  new  birth.  The  Spirit  of  our  Lord  is 
always  present  in  the  baptism  of  the  Church.  This  we  assert 
as  against  those  who  would  make  of  it  a  mere  figure  for  our 
own  affections  personally.  The  water  is  constantly  employed, 
a  material  element,  as  a  perpetual  protest  against  those  who 
would  deny  the  literal  sense  of  Holy  Writ,  and  the  power  of 
God  in  sanctifying  material  things. 

*  So  great  was  the  sense  of  this  fact  of  the  presence  of  Christ  in  the 
Primitive  Church  of  the  East,  that  the  priest  was  never  permitted  to  say,  as 
he  does  in  the  West,  "  N,  Ibaptize  thee,  in  the  name,"  etc. ;  but  he  said,  "  N, 
the  servant  of  God,  is  baptized  in  the  name,"  etc.  In  Christian  baptism,  it  is 
not  man  that  baptizes,  but  the  Son  of  God,  the  glorified  God-man,  who  is 
present  to  our  faith  in  all  the  offices  of  His  Church,  and  the  Spirit  of  life 
and  grace,  the  personal  Spirit  of  the  Father  and  the  Son. 


REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM.  349 

For  never  in  the  Church  of  Christ  has  this  fundamental 
text  been  interpreted  otherwise  than  of  baptism.  Never  have 
the  commissioned  ambassadors  of  Christ  ceased  to  admit  men 
by  baptism  only  into  the  Church.  Never  has  it  been  other- 
wise than  upon  a  full,  and,  as  far  as  they  could  judge,  a  sincere 
profession  of  repentance  and  faith.  Never  otherwise  than  in 
the  name  of  the  Father,  and  of  the  Son,  and  of  the  Holy 
Ghost,  and  with  the  use  of  the  material  element  of  water,  as 
an  outward  and  visible  sign,  a  sacrament  of  the  iuM-ard  and 
spiritual  grace.  The  declaration  of  our  Saviour  to  Nicodemus 
on  baptism,  the  commission  He  gave  to  His  apostles,  and  their 
action  upon  that  commission,  all  these  certainly  make  a  three- 
fold cord  on  the  doctrine  of  baptism  that  cannot  be  broken. 

We  add  here,  simply  in  order  to  point  out  and  trace  the 
steps  of  transition  from  the  giving  of  the  commission  to  the 
exercise  of  it,  a  few  passages  from  the  Acts. 

"  Through  the  Holy  Ghost  He  had  given  commandments 
unto  the  apostles  whom  He  had  chosen:  .  ".  .  being  seen  of 
them  forty  days,  and  speaking  of  the  things  pertaining  to  the 
kingdom  of  God ;  and,  being  assembled  together  with  them, 
commanded  them  that  they  should  not  depart  from  Jerusalem, 
but  wait  for  the  promise  of  the  Father,  which,  saith  He,  ye 
have  heard  of  Me.  For  John  truly  baptized  with  water;  but  ye 
shall  be  baptized  with  the  Holy  Ghost  not  many  days  hence."  '^ 

"  And  when  the  day  of  Pentecost  was  fully  come,  they  were 
all  with  one  accord  in  one  place.  And  suddenly  there  came 
a  sound  from  heaven  as  of  a  rushing  mighty  wind,  and  it  filled 
all  the  house  where  they  were  sitting.  And  there  appeared 
unto  them  cloven  tongues  like  as  of  fire,  and  it  sat  upon  each 
of  them.  And  they  were  all  filled  with  the  Holy  Ghost,  and 
began  to  speak  with  other  tongues,  as  the  Spirit  gave  them 
utterance."  f 

Here,  then,  was  the  Church  organized  by  the  descent  of  the 
energizing  and  vitalizing  personal  Spirit;  and  the  commission 
before  given  the  apostles  was  "  endued  with  the  power  from  on 
*Acts,  i.  2-5.  f  Acts,  ii.  1-4. 


360  REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM. 

high."  And  at  once  they  acted  upon  it.  They  preached. 
They  taught.  They  baptized.  We  have  the  sermon  of  St. 
Peter,  the  chief  of  the  apostles,  to  the  many-torgued  multi- 
tude, assembled  from  all  nations,  at  Jerusalem.  And  the  bur- 
den of  the  whole  is  Christ,  the  Lord,  the  Saviour,  while  the 
practical  conclusion  is  most  plain — "  Therefore  let  all  the  house 
oi  Israel  know  assuredly,  that  God  hath  made  that  same  Jesus, 
whom  ye  have  crucified,  both  Lord  and  Christ."  And  when 
they  were  pierced  with  remorse  and  compunction,  and  said 
unto  Peter  and  the  rest  of  the  apostles,  "  Brethren,  what  shall 
we  do?  Then  Peter  said  unto  them,  Repent,  and  he  hajp- 
tized  every  one  of  you  in  the  name  of  Jesus  Christ  for  the 
remission  of  sins,  and  ye  shall  receive  the  gift  of  the  Holy 
Ghost.  For  the  promise  is  to  you,  and  to  your  children,  and 
to  all  that  are  afar  off,  even  as  many  as  the  Lord  our  God  shall 
call."  * 

"  Then  they  that  gladly  received  the  Word  were  haptized: 
and  the  same  day  there  were  added  unto  them  about  three 
thousand  souls."  f 

This  is  the  first  action  by  the  apostles  upon  their  commis- 
sion. We  ask,  does  it  not  completely  agree  with  the  doctrine 
of  the  Church  in  every  way  ?  Certainly  it  does.  We  ask  our 
readers  again  to  look  back  to  our  baptismal  services  for  adults, 
and  there  they  shall  find  this  very  passage  read  in  the  ears  of 
all  the  people,  teaching  them  forever  the  same  doctrine,  and 
the  same  practice  upon  it,  as  the  apostles  taught  in  that  first 
day  of  Gospel  preaching. 

We  admit  that  these  doctrines  are  not  popular  now.  They 
are  not  such  as  are  preached  by  the  ordinary  preachers  outside 
the  Church,  who  are  a  large  majority.  But,  day  by  day,  the 
faith  shall  grow,  and' truth  increase.  The  plain  meaning  and 
literal  sense  of  Holy  Writ  shall  be  better  understood,  the 
relations  to  Christian  baptism  of  all  the  doctrines  of  the  Gospel 
shall  be  more  distinctly  comprehended,  and  the  children  ot 
those  who  now  deny  the  plain  sense,  the  very  words  of  Holy 
*  Acts,  ii.  36-39.  f  Acts,  ii.  41. 


REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM.  351 

Scripture,  shall  confess  the  faith,  and  wonder  how  their  fathers, 
sincere  and  honest  men  of  true  piety,  could  be  so  blind.  For 
the  teaching  that  men  receive  and  accept  in  childhood,  the  tra- 
dition they  are  under,  is  most  powerful  for  truth  or  falsehood. 
And  here,  for  the  present,  in  the  religious  world  of  the  United 
States,  Calvin  and  Luther  and  Edwards,  and  their  traditions 
and  doctrines,  are  dominant,  more  believed  in,  than  the  four 
Gospels,  than  St.  John,  or  St.  Peter,  or  St.  Paul,  than  the 
"Written  Word,  or  the  Holy  Catholic  Church. 


CHAPTER  lY. 

The  Christian  Church,  as  we  have  seen,  invariablj  consid- 
ered baptism  to  be  the  door  of  entrance  into  the  kingdom  of 
God  upon  earth,  so  that  the  baptized  were  ever  counted  to  be 
within  the  Cliurch,  the  unbaptized  outside  it.  And  the  sacra- 
ment-of  baptism  was  always  performed  with  water,  according  to 
the  commission  of  our  Lord.  These  two  facts  are  manifest  in 
the  Scriptures,  they  come  forth  in  the  universal  p"actice  of 
the  Church  since  the  time  of  Christ  our  Lord,  and  are  visible  at 
the  present  time  in  the  practice  of  all  that  profess  Christianity, 
except  a  very  small  and  minute  fragment  indeed.  For  who  is 
there  now  who  does  not  begin  the  full  profession  of  Christianity 
with  baptism  ?  Who  is  there  now  that  does  not  baptize  with 
water,  using  literally  and  in  fact  the  material  element  ?  We, 
therefore,  do  not  discuss  them,  but  take  them  as  true,  referring 
those  who  doubt  to  the  authors  cited  underneath.* 

With  these  preliminaries  we  go  on  to  our  extracts  from 
Holy  Writ.  In  the  Epistle  of  St.  Paul  to  Titus,  we  find  this 
passage :  "  And  when  the  kindness  and  love  of  God  our 
Saviour  toward  man  was  manifested,  not  in  consequence  of 
works  of  righteousness  which  we  have  done,  but  according  to 
His  own  mercy  He  saved  us,  by  the  washing  of  regeneration, 
and  the  renewing  of  the  Holy  Ghost ;  which  He  shed  on  us 
abundantly  through  Jesus  Christ  our  Saviour  ;  that  being  justi- 
fied by  His  grace,  we  should  be  made  heirs  according  to  the 
hope  of  everlasting  life.  This  is  a  faithful  saying,  and  these 
things  I  will  that  thou  affirm  constantly."  f 

Here  is  the  same  doctrine  still.     We  are  saved  by  the  wash- 

*  Leslie,  on  Water  Baptism,  in  Lis  Works ;  Bingham's  "  Christian  Antiq- 
uities," vol.  iii.  415^25.  f  Titus,  iii.  4-8. 


REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM.  353 

ing,  or  baptism,  of  regeneration.  And  then,  after  this  initial 
sacrament,  by  the  constant  operation  upon  ns  of  the  Holy  Spirit 
of  God,  which  implies,  in  the  active  or  objective  sense.  His  re- 
newing of  our  hearts  by  grace,  and,  in  the  subjective  or  personal 
sense,  our  reception  by  faith  of  that  sanctifying  influence,  and 
our  consequent  growth  in  holiness. 

We  would  remark,  here,  that  the  word  baptism,  in  our  ver- 
sion of  the  New  Testament,  is  transferred,  not  translated.  And 
the  reference  to  water,  therefore,  which  it  has  in  the  original,  is 
not  so  distinctly  seen.  For,  with  us,  baptism  is  used  exclusively 
in  the  technical  sense,  not  being  a  word  of  English  origin.  In 
the  original,  its  significance,  implying  the  use  of  water,  lies 
before  the  eye,  on  the  face  of  the  word.  Accordingly,  we"  have 
various  places  in  which  it  occurs  in  the  Greek  of  the  New 
Testament  in  the  same  form  in  which  it  is  used  of  the  initial 
sacrament,  Baptizo  {BoKzi^co)  and  Baptismos  (BaTrvcfffib^),  and 
yet  signifying  a  mere  washing  with  water ;  and,  in  fact,  is  so 
translated  in  the  English  version, — "  When  they  come  from 
the  market,  except  thei/  wash  {BaTCTcacouvai),  they  eat  not."  * 
And,  again,  in  the  same  verse, — "  The  washings  {BaTTTia/ioht;) 
of  cups  and  pots,  brazen  vessels  and  couches." 

We  see,  then,  in  this  passage,  a  manifest  agreement  with  the 
doctrine.  In  it  is  plainly  implied  our  regeneration,  or  new  birth 
of  water  and  of  the  Spirit ;  and  then,  again,  our  renovation, 
by  the  fostering  influences  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  renewing  us, 
day  by  day,  where  aught  in  us  is  decayed  by  our  own  weak- 
ness, or  by  the  malice  of  Satan.  And  see  with  what  a  solemn 
asseveration  the  apostle  crowns  and  consummates  all  this  doc- 
trinal declaration, — "  Faithful  is  this  saying,  and  these  things  I 
will  that  thou  affirm  constantly,"  Faithful,  indeed,  to  the  truth 
of  the  Gospel  of  our  Lord,  that  "  except  a  man  be  born  of 
water  and  of  the  Spirit,  he  cannot  enter  into  the  kingdom  of 
God,"  the  saying  is,  that  "  according  to  His  mercy  He  saved 
us  by  the  washing  or  baptism  of  regeneration,  and  by  the  re- 
newal of  the  Holy  Ghost." 

*  St.  Mark,  vii.  4. 

23 


354  REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM. 

And  as  we  have  said  that  we  do  not  rest  our  interpretation 
of  any  passage  of  Scripture  solely  upon  our  own  argumenta- 
tion, we  give,  from  the  commentaries  of  Bishop  Mant  and  Dr. 
D'Oyly,  a  large  collection  of  comments  upon  this  important 
passage,  from  the  ablest  and  most  learned  English  divines. 
And,  finally,  we  give  Adam  Clarke's  commentary  upon  the 
verse, — a  most  curious  instance  of  the  want  of  coherency  and 
logic  in  the  mind  of  that  learned  but  injudicious  man,  and  yet 
a  testimony  to  the  fact  that  the  text  refers  to  baptism.  "We 
go  on  with  our  extracts: 

"  '  By  the  washing  of  regeneration,  and  renewing  of  the 
Holy  Ghost.'  By  means  of  these  holy  ordinances  which  He 
hath  appointed,  and,  namely,  as  one  of  them ;  by  the  holy 
sacrament  of  baptism,  which  is  the  laver  of  our  spiritual  re- 
generation, yet  not  by  any  virtue  of  the  outward  sign,  but 
by  the  inward  ]-enovation  which  is  wrought  in  us  by  the  Holy 
Ghost.* 

"  By  means  of  the  baptismal  covenant  and  sacrament,  and 
the  Holy  Ghost  then  vouchsafed  unto  us,  as  a  principle  of  a 
new  or  holy  life."  f 

"  'By  the  washing  of  regeneration  '  in  baptism,  and  by  '  the 
renewing  of  the  Holy  Ghost'  given,  then,  to  the  baptized. 
The  apostle,  by  the  '  laver  of  regeneration,'  understands  that 
baptism  by  which  Christians  coming  then  from  heathenism, 
engaged  to  renounce  idolatry,  the  works  of  the  flesh  and  of  the 
world,  and  dedicated  themselves  to  the  service  of  the  sacred 
Trinity,  and  testified  their  faith  in  Christ  (see  John,  iii.  5; 
Matt,  xxviii.  19).  From  the  beginning,  the .  word  here  ren- 
dered '  regeneration,'  was  used  to  denote  baptism,  as  Justin 
Martyr,  Irenseus,  and  Clement  of  Alexandria  inform  us.  The 
same  apostle  elsewhere  ascribes  this  virtue  to  baptism  (Eph.  v. 
26 ;  see,  also,  I.  Pet.  iii.  21),  and  all  Christians  are  said  to  be 
baptized  by  one  Spirit  (I.  Cor.  xii.  13),  who  is  here  said  to  be 
plentifully  poured  out  upon  all  believers."  X 

"  That  wonderful  change  in  all  our  faculties  which  is  eflected 
*  Bishop  Hall.  f  Dr.  Welle.  %  I>r.  Whitbj. 


REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM.  3S5 

by  the  Spirit  of  holiness — as  it  were  annihilating  onr  former 
selves,  and  making  other  creatures  of  us  than  we  were  before — 
is,  at  its  commencement,  called  '  regeneration.'  ]S"ot  that  this 
change  is  at  once,  or  at  all  perfected  in  this  world,  so  that 
none  of  the  dregs  of  our  old  nature  and  original  corruption 
remain.  Our  Christian  course  is  only  a  '  going  on  unto  per- 
fection,' and  not  the  arrival  at  it ;  it  is  the  abounding  more 
and  more  (I.  Thess.  iv.  1),  and  not  a  full  attainment.  The 
guilt  of  original  corruption  may  be  blotted  out,  and  the  punish- 
ment remitted ;  but  the  stain  continues,  and  sullies  our  best  per- 
formances. The  blood  of  Christ,  once  shed,  did  not  wash  it  out ; 
but  the  graces  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  repeated  and  continued,  grad- 
ually diminish  it.  So  that  regeneration,  if  it  he  applied  to  the 
whole  and  entire  change  of  a  man,  is  a  progressive  state, — the 
perfection  of  which  is  in  another  world,  the  commencement 
and  degrees  in  this.  The  commencement  of  it — when,  instead 
of  children  of  wrath,  we  are  received  into  God's  favor,  and  have 
the  Spirit  given  us  as  a  principle  of  new  life,  gradually  to  un- 
fold itself  hereafter,  as  we  shall  nourish  and  comply  with  it — is 
usually  called  more  particularly  our  regeneration,  as  it  is  our 
being  born  of  the  Spirit,  and  is  the  first  beginning  of  a  new 
and  spiritual  life,"  * 

"We  are,  hy  baptism,  made  the  children  of  grace,  and, 
therefore,  enabled  to  do  the  work  of  grace ;  which  work  flows 
not  immediately  from  the  sacraments,  but  from  the  power  of 
Christ  and  His  Spirit  that  works  hy  the  sacrament.  The 
rule  of  the  school  is  sound,  and  to  be  retained,  that  '  Sacra- 
ments, hy  resemblance  represent,  by  institution  signify,  and  by 
the  power  of  Christ  they  sanctify.'  "  f 

"  Undoubtedly  the  apostle  here  means  baptism,  the  rite  by 
which  persons  were  admitted  into  the  Church,  and  the  visible 
sign  of  the  cleansing,  purifying  influences  of  the  Holy  Spirit, 
which  the  apostle  immediately  subjoins.  Baptism  is  only  a 
sign,  (!)  and  should,  therefore,  never  be  separated  from  the 
thing  signified ;  but  it  is  a  rite  commanded  by  God  himself, 
*  Dr.  Gloucester  Ridley.  f  Bishop  Beveridge. 


356  REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM. 

and,  therefore,  the  thing  signified  should  never  he  expected 
without  it.''''  * 

We  go  on,  now,  to  another  passage  in  the  writings  of  the 
same  apostle.  In  it  St.  Paul,  speaking  to  the  Roman  con- 
verts, argues  with  them  against  a  perverse  misrepresentation  of 
the  doctrine  of  grace.  We  may  observe  how  he  argues  to 
them,  from  their  absolute  possession  of  certain  privileges,  and 
these  privileges  based  upon  the  fact  of  their  baptism.  As  a 
matter  of  fact,  in  the  argument  of  the  apostle,  we  have  been 
baptized  into  Jesus  Christ;  we  have  been  buried  with  Him  in 
the  baptismal  waters ;  we  have  been  planted  with  Him  in  the 
likeness  of  His  death.  From  all  these  facts  comes  the  infer- 
ence, plainly  and  stringently  drawn,  that  we,  as  having  within 
us  the  life  of  Christ,  "  as  dead  to  sin,"  should  walk  in  a  new 
life.  The  same  arguments,  precisely,  these  are,  as  upon  the 
Church  doctrine  and  fact  of  baptism  we  should  address  at  this 
day  to  the  regenerate  who  are  tempted  to  sin,  taking  for 
granted  all  the  powers  and  all  the  privileges  conferred  upon 
them  in  their  baptism,  and  making  these  the  basis  of  our 
exhortations  to  a  Christian  life. 

The  passage  is  this :  "  What  shall  we  say  then  1  Shall  we 
continue  in  sin,  that  grace  may  abound  ?  God  forbid.  How 
shall  we,  who  have  died  unto  sin,  live  any  longer  therein  ? 
Know  ye  not,  that  so  many  of  us  as  were  baptized  into  Jesus 
Christ  were  baptized  into  His  death  ?  Therefore  we  are 
bnried  with  Him  by  baptism  into  death :  that  like  as  Christ  was 
raised  up  from  the  dead  by  the  glory  of  the  Father,  even  so 
we  also  should  walk  in  newness  of  life.  For  if  we  have  been 
planted  together  in  the  likeness  of  His  death,  we  shall  be  also 

in  the  likeness  of  His  resurrection Thus  reckon 

yourselves  also  to  be  dead  indeed'  unto  sin,  but  alive  unto 
God  through  Jesus  Christ  our  Lord.  Let  not  sin  therefore 
reign  in  your  mortal  body,  that  ye  should  obey  it  in  the 
lusts  thereof."  f 

Here  is  not  only  actual  baptism  spoken  of — the  initial 
*Adain  Clarke.  f  Romans,  vi.  1-5,  11, 12. 


REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM.  Z5i*I 

sacrament  of  water  and  the  Spirit — but,  also,  the  ordinary  mode 
of  immersion,  whereby  the  man,  as  it  were,  is  buried  in  the 
water, — is  planted,  as  it  were,  with  Christ.  And  to  this  bap- 
tism in  water  is  actually  attributed  a  death  unto  sin,  through 
Christ, — a  new  lite  through  Him.  How  fully  does  the  Cate- 
chism of  the  Church  agree  with  this,  when  it  says  that  the 
inward  and  spiritual  grace  in  baptism  is  a  "  death  unto  sin,  and 
a  new  birth  unto  righteousness,  for,  being  by  nature  born  in 
sin,  and  the  children  of  wrath,  we  are  hereby  (by  baptism,  that 
is)  made  the  children  of  grace." 

We  go  on  here,  as  we  did  upon  the  last  passage,  to  give 
some  comments  from  eminent  divines,  showing  the  sense  in 
which  they  have  taken  it : 

"  How  shall  we  that  are  dead — or,  according  to  the  orig- 
inal, '  have  died ' — to  sin,  by  our  baptism,  which  is  an  entrance 
into  the  Christian  covenant,  live  any  longer  therein  ? "  * 

"  To  '  live  in  sin  '  is  not  to  commit  any  one  act  of  sin,  for 
so  all  do  live  in  sin  (I.  John,  i.  8 ;  James,  iii.  8) ;  but  to  have  a 
habit  and  custom  of  sinning."  f 

"  Know  ye  not,  that  so  many  of  us  as  were  baptized  into 
Jesus  have  the  full  efficacy  of  Christ's  death  sealed  up  unto 
us,  and  by  virtue  thereof  die  unto  our  sins  ?  "  :{: 

"  '  We  are  buried  with  Him  by  baptism  into  death.'  It  is 
probable  that  the  apostle  here  alludes  to  the  mode  of  adminis- 
tering baptism  by  immersion,  the  whole  body  being  put  under 
the  loater,  which  seemed  to  say,  the  man  is  drowned,  is  dead, 
and  when  he  came  up  out  of  the  water,  he  seemed  to  have  a 
resurrection  to  life ;  the  man  is  risen  again  ^  he  is  alive.'''  § 

Again,  we  go  to  another  passage  of  St.  Paul: 

"  For  in  Him  dwelleth  all  the  fulness  of  the  Godhead 
bodily.  And  ye  are  made  full  {i.  e.,  of  the  graces  of  the  Spirit 
and  the  life  of  Christ)  in  Him,  who  is  the  head  of  all  princi- 
pality and  power :  in  whom  also  ye  are  circumcised  with  the 
circumcision  made  without  hands,  in  putting  ofi'  the  body  of  the 

*  Dr.  Whitby.  f  Bishop  Fell. 

:J:  Bishop  Hall.  §  Adam  Clarke. 


358  REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM. 

sins  of  the  flesh  :  having  been  buried  with  Him  in  your  bap- 
tism, in  which  also  ye  are  risen  with  Him,  through  the  faith 
of  the  operation  of  God,  who  hath  raised  Him  from  the  dead. 
And  you,  heing  dead  in  your  sins  and  in  the  uncircumcision 
of  your  flesh,  hath  He  Tnade  to  live  together  with  Him,  having 
forgiven  you  all  trespasses ;  having  blotted  out  the  bond  of 
ordinances  that  was  against  us,  and  He  took  it  out  of  the  way, 
nailing  it  to  His  cross ;  and  having  spoiled  principalities  and 
powers,  He  made  a  show  of  them  openly,  triumphing  over  them 
upon  it."  * 

Here  is  the  same  deep  significance  attached  to  baptism 
which  the  Church  has  ever  placed  upon  it,  and  which  we  have 
endeavored  to  bring  forth  to  our  readers  in  this  book.  See 
how,  in  this  passage,  baptism  lies  midway  between  the  incar- 
nation of  our  Lord — "  in  Him  dwelleth  all  the  fulness  of  the 
Godhead  bodily" — and  His  triumph  upon  the  cross!  "Ye" 
— that  is,  the  Colossian  Church  and  its  members — "  are  buried 

with  Him  in  baptism, in  it  ye  are  risen  with 

Hitn  I "  ye  are  made  alive,  with  Him,  who  were  formerly  dead 
in  trespasses  and  heathenism,  outside  the  law  of  Moses,  in  your 
sensual  corruption  (the  uncircumcision  of  your  flesh),  and  now 
all  your  sins  are  forgiven.  Baptism,  the  initial  sacrament  of 
the  grace  of  Christ,  the  true  circumcision  of  the  Spirit  of  Christ, 
you  have  received.  This  is  not  "  made  with  hands,"  but  it  is 
the  work  of  the  Spirit.  And  all  these  are  reasons  why  no 
one  should  make  a  spoil  (or  prey)  of  you,  through  philosophy 
and  vain  deceit,  after  the  tradition  of  men,  after  the  rudiments 
of  the  world,  and  not  after  Christ. 

"  The  characteristics  here  specified,"  says  "Wordsworth,  in 
his  Commentary,  "point,  in  the  first  place,  to  the  spirit  of  that 
proud,  vainglorious  Pharisaism  which  endeavored  to  corrupt 
the  simplicity  of  the  Gospel,  and  to  impose  the  observances  of 
the  ceremonial  law,  and  of  their  own  traditions,  on  the  con- 
science of  Christians,  as  necessary  to  salvation,  and  so  to  dom- 

Col.  ii.  9-15.     We  consider  that  the  translation,  "  upon  it,"  i.  e.,  upon  the 
cross,  in  eruce,  is  much  nearer  the  literal  sense  than  "  in." 


REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM.  359 

ineer  over  those  whom  Christ  had  purchased  with  His  own 
blood."  * 

Imagine  the  case  of  the  heathen  converted  by  St.  Pauh 
He  had  received  them  into  the  Church  by  baptism  merely, 
upon  a  profession  of  faith  and  repentance.  Having  been  him- 
self a  Jew  of  the  most  rigid  sect,  he  put  not  upon  these  men 
the  heavy  yoke  of  the  ceremonial  law,  but  gave  them  to  know 
their  freedom  in  Christ  our  Lord.  And  then,  by  and  by,  they 
were  invaded  by  these  Judaizhig  teachers.  We  can  see,  by 
considering  the  law  as  given  to  Moses,  the  man  of  God, 
what  a  multitude  of  plausible  arguments  there  must  have  been, 
in  those  days,  for  imposing  the  law  of  Moses  upon  heathen  con- 
verts, with  all  its  painful  and  burdensome  ritual ;  and  more 
especially  the  rite  of  circumcision,  the  form  established  by  God 
himself  for  admission  into  covenant  with  God,  into  the  election 
of  Israel.  Furthermore,  we  must  remember  that  the  temple 
was  not  yet  overthrown,  and  its  sacred  rites  were  still  going 
on ;  and,  also,  that  the  nation  had  its  position  as  a  people 
still,  in  the  world ;  and,  also,  that  Jewish  practices  were,  to  a 
great  extent,  tolerated  in  the  Christian  Church,  so  much  so, 
indeed,  that  St.  Paul  himself,  on  another  occasion,  took  Timo- 
theus  "  and  circumcised  him  because  of  the  Jews  which  were 
in  those  quarters."  f  The  more,  indeed,  we  place  before  our 
mind  in  imagination  the  position  of  the  Christian  Church  an- 
tecedent to  the  siege  of  Jerusalem  and  the  destruction  of  the 
temple,  the  more  we  see  that  in  this  was,  then,  the  great 
stress  of  danger  to  the  Church, — that  the  Gospel  might  become 
so  overloaded  with  Jewish  tradition  and  usages  and  ceremo- 
nies, that  Christianity  should  assume  the  position  and  aspect 
of  a  mere  sect  of  Judaism,  such  as  were  the  Pharisees,  the 
Sadducees,  or  the  Essenes. 

Now,  in  view  of  that  imminent  danger,  let  us  consider  the 
passage  quoted.  What  is  it,  in  reference  to  this  crisis,  but  a 
full  and  perfect  argument  against  these  dangerous  and  destruc- 
tive Judaizers,  founded  upon  the  facts  of  the  Christian  life,  and 
*  Wordsworth's  Commentary,  p.  316.  f  Acts,  xvi.  3. 


360  REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM. 

taking  them  as  real  and  precious  facts  far  transcending  in  value 
all  Jewish  rites,  which  were  merely  types  and  shadows  ?  See 
what  a  reality  baptism  has  in  this  passage,  considering  these 
circumstances.  It  renders  circumcision  wholly  unnecessary ; 
for  itself  is  the  true  circumcision  of  the  Spirit,  the  circumcision 
of  Christ,  the  sacrament  of  admission  into  the  covenant  of  God, 
through  Christ.  Man's  hand  circumcised  in  the  Jewisli  ordi- 
nance, but  in  the  sacrament  of  baptism  it  is  the  Holy  Spirit,  the 
*'  finger  of  God,"  and  by  his  operation  the  "  body  of  the  sins 
of  the  flesh  is  put  away."  The  old  man  is  overthrown  in  our 
baptism,  the  new  man  is  raised  up  in  it.  In  it  ye  are  buried 
with  him ;  in  it  ye  are  made  alive  with  him ;  in  it  your  sins 
are  forgiven.  The  handwriting  of  ordinances  is  blotted  out, 
and  the  law  is  cancelled  in  your  baptism  into  Christ.  The 
Jewish  sacraments  of  the  old  law  were  merely  shadows,  and 
you  have  the  substance,  the  solid  reality. 

Look  at  all  this  argument.  Does  not  the  very  stress  and 
power,  the  whole  weight  and  gist  of  it,  depend  upon  the 
truth  which  we  of  the  Church  assert, — that  in  baptism  all  men 
receive  permanent  spiritual  gifts,  who  approacli  it  with  the 
qualifications  that  Christ  has  prescribed.  Is  it  not  upon  these 
grounds,  and  upon  these  only,  a  triumphant  answer  to  the 
advocates  of  circumcision  ?  God  the  Word  eternal  is  incarnate 
in  these  last  days.  In  Him  dwells  all  the  fulness  of  the  God- 
head bodily.  He  has  died  upon  the  cross  for  the  sins  of  man, 
upon  it  as  a  conqueror  triumphing  over  all  the  powers  of  evil. 
In  Him  we  are  complete  and  perfect ;  in  Him  we  are  new 
born ;  in  Him  we  have  new  life ;  in  Him  we  have  forgiveness 
of  all  our  sins.  For  our  baptism  into  Christ  is  the  true  circum- 
cision, not  made  v/ith  mortal  hands,  but  by  the  Eternal  Spirit.* 

*  The  circumcision  made  without  hands,  with  which  we  are  circumcised, 
the  Greek  fathers,  one  and  all,  interpret  of  baptism  and  the  work  of  the 
Spirit  therein  upon  the  sotil.  We  give,  for  an  example,  the  words  of  Epipha- 
nius,  from  Suicer  ("  Thesaurus,"  vol.  i.  p.  693),  translating  the  Greek  for  the 
convenience  of  our  readers  :  "  Among  them  (the  Jews)  was  the  circumcision 
in  the  flesh,  which  served  for  a  time,  until  the  coming  of  the  great  circum- 


REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM.  361 

Having,  therefore,  the  substance,  which  is  Christ,  we  refuse  the 
sliadow.  Tlie  argument  on  tlie  grounds  of  tlie  CInirch  doctrine 
of  baptism  is  impregnable,  unassailable,  irresistible.  Deny  the 
Church  doctrine,  and  suppose  that  baptism  is  a  mere  ceremo- 
nial, a  sign  that  may  have  a  reality  or  may  not,  and  the  whole 
force  and  cogency  of  the  argument  is  gone.  The  Judaizing 
teacher  can  show  that  circumcision,  by  the  ordinance  and  law 
of  God,  is  just  as  much,  indeed  a  great  deal  more,  than  this. 
But  take  the  Church  doctrine  of  baptism,  and  the  whole  pas- 
sage is  clear  in  all  its  meaning  and  validity  of  argumentation, 
and  the  Judaizing  teacher  is  overthrown  triumphantly. 

We  go  now  to  another  passage  in  St.  Paul's  writings  :  "As 
the  body  is  one,  and  hath  many  members,  and  all  the  members 
of  that  one  body,  being  many,  are  one  body :  so  also  is  Christ. 
Fo7'  hy  one  Spirit  are  we  all  'baptized  into  one  body,  whether 
we  be  Jews  or  Greeks,  whether  we  be  bond  or  free ;  and  have 

all  been  made  to  drink  into  one  Spirit Now  ye  are  the 

body  of  Christ,  and  members  in  particular."  * 

Here,  again,  is  baptism  seen  in  the  sacramental  sense  in 
which  the  Church  teaches  it,  as  introducing  man  into  the 
Church  of  God,  the  body  of  Christ  upon  this  earth  ;  and,  again, 
as  having  its  efficient  power  in  the  Spirit  of  God,  really  acting 
upon  the  man  to  that  effect,  here  upon  the  earth.  In  the  one 
he  is  carnally,  in  the  other  spiritually,  circumcised ;  not  as  in 
the  Jewish  fashion,  "  for  it  is  sins  tliat  ye  have  laid  aside,  not 
flesh.     When,  and  wherein  ?     In  your  hajptisinP  f 

cision — that  is,  baptism — which  cuts  us  away  from  sins,  and  seals  us  into  the 
name  of  God." 

On  this  very  passage  St.  Chrysostom,  in  his  Homilies,  also  gives  us  the 
full  meaning :  "  No  longer  is  it  circumcision  by  the  knife,  but  by  Christ 
himself, /o?'  no  hand  imparts  the  circumcision  here  but  the  Spirit.  It  circum- 
cises not  a  part,  but  the  whole  man.  It  is  the  body  in  both  cases,  but  in  the 
one  it  is  carnally,  in  the  other  spiritually  circumcised ;  but  not  as  in  the 
Jewish  fashion,  for  it  is  sins  that  ye  have  laid  aside,  not  flesh.  When,  and 
wherein?  In  your  baptism." — St.  John  Chrysostom,  Homilies  on  Coll.  ii. 
11. 

*  I.  Cor.  xii.  13,  13,  and  27. 

f  St.  John  Chrysostom,  Homilies  on  Coll.  ii.  11. 


362  REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM. 

Into  that  Church* — see  how,  in  the  passage  cited,  "all" 
the  Corinthians  have,  by  that  "  one  Spirit,  been  baptized,"  and 
"  all  "  have  been  grafted  into  that  "  one  body,  Jews  or  Greeks, 
slaves  or  freemen,"  and  "  all  have  been  made  to  drink  of  that 
one  Spirit," — all  the  members  of  the  Church  had  been  bap- 
tized. The  circumcision  of  the  Jew  was  disregarded  and  set 
at  naught,  and  he  also  was  baptized.  The  Roman  citizen,  and 
his  slave  alike,  had  to  enter  the  Church  of  Christ  by  the  same 
baptism.  So  it  was,  also,  with  the  cultivated  and  literary  Greek. 
All  persons,  without  exception,  were  baptized,  and,  therefore, 
all  were  within  the  one  body  by  the  sacramental  efficiency  of 
the  one  Spirit.  All  had  these  privileges  by  their  baptism. 
And  yet,  when  we  look  at  the  morality  of  the  Corinthians,  we 
find  that  all  the  "sons  of  God"  were  not  dutiful  sons,  all  the 
"  children  of  the  kingdom  "  were  not  obedient  to  its  laws.  In 
other  words,  all  who  had  been  regenerate  were  not  justified ; 
all  the  sons  of  God  had  not  the  living  faith  that  purifies  the 
heart ;  for  we  find  that  there  were  many  weak  and  wicked 
Christians  among  them.  "  For  this  cause  many  are  weak  and 
sickly  among  you,  and  many  sleep,"  f  We  find,  in  fact,  most 
dreadful  sins  in  the  members  of  the  Church  at  Corinth : 
drunkenness  at  the  Lord's  table  ;  toleration  of  idolatry,  and  of 
sacramental  feasting  in  the  temples  of  idols,  upon  the  idol  sacri- 
fices ;  abuse  of  spiritual  gifts,  even  those  that  were  miraculous, 
to  vainglorious  and  unprofitable  self-display  ;  and,  also,  unchris- 
tian and  unseemly  rivalry  and  contention.  And,  worse  than  all, 
there  was  in  the  Church  incest  of  a  most  hateful  kind,  by  a 
prominent  member  of  the  Church, — "  Such  fornication  as  is 
not  so  much  as  named  among  the  heathen,  that  one  should  have 
his  father's  wife."  X  And  this  last,  it  would  seem,  was  connived 
at  by  the  rulers  of  the  Church  ;  and  with  all  these  sins  the 
Church  was  puffed  up  with  a  spirit  of  vainglory,  of  spiritual 

*  "  By  one  and  the  same  Spirit  of  God,  working  with  and  by  the  outward 
elements,  are  we  baptized  into  the  communion  of  one  and  the  same  Church, 
and  are  all  made  partakers  of  the  same  sacramental  cup,  and  therein  of  the 
same  blood  of  Christ,  by  the  working  of  the  same  Spirit." — Bishop  Hall. 
1 1.  Cor.  xi.  30.  X  I.  Cor.  v.  1. 


REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM.  363 

pride  and  blindness  ;  presumptuous  and  self-sufficient ;  insub- 
ordinate and  refractory  against  apostolic  authority;  contempt- 
uous, in  fact,  toward  the  apostle,  his  teachings  and  his  person. 
Such  was  the  character  of  many  baptized  members  of  that 
Christian  Church,  that  lies  upon  the  face  of  the  two  Epistles  to 
the  Corinthians. 

Now,  upon  the  modern  Calvinistic  theory,  there  are  only 
two  classes  in  the  world, — those  who  are  Christians,  and  those 
who  are  not  Christians.  Baptism  is  not  taken  into  account  in 
any  way.  They  only  are  Christians  who  are  pious  men, 
and  they  are  not  Christians  who  are  not  pious  men.  Upon 
our  doctrine  there  are,  of  all  men,  first,  two  classes, — the  unbap- 
tized,  who  are  not  Christians  ;  and  the  baptized,  who  are  Chris- 
tians. And  these  last  are  divided  into  two  classes  more, — 
Christians  who  are  justified  before  God,  and  Christians  who  are 
condemned  ;  those  who  are  good,  and  those  who  are  evil ;  sons 
that  are  obedient,  and  sons  that  are  disobedient.  Now,  con- 
sider these  two  Epistles, — which  theory  is  in  them  ?  Surely, 
it  is  ours, — the  theory  that  the  Clinrch  of  God  is  a  definite  body 
upon  the  earth,  into  which  men  are  admitted  upon  definite  en- 
gagements, pu1)licly  taken,  and  in  a  prescribed  and  visible  way  ; 
the  sacrament  of  baptism,  about  which,  as  a  matter  of  fact, 
there  can  be  no  doubt  or  uncertainty  in  the  man's  own  mind,  or 
in  that  of  the  Church.  And  that,  therefore,  as  in  the  nation,  the 
man,  heing  a  citizen,  may  be  a  felon,  a  traitor,  or  an  outlaw  ;  as 
in  the  family,  heing  a  son,  he  may  be  in  everything  vile  and 
unfilial,  so  as  not  to  deserve  the  name  of  son,  and  yet  he  still 
is,  by  blood  and  birth,  a  son, — thus  it  can  be  in  the  Christian 
Church,  and  this,  because  of  the  man's  own  wickedness,  aris- 
ing from  his  personal  want  of  living  faith. 

The  whole  tenor  of  these  two  Epistles  to  the  Corinthians, 
doctrinal  and  practical,  is  most  evidently  in  this  direction.  It 
is,  ye  have  sinned  grievously ;  but  remember  that  ye  are  the 
S071S  of  God  within  the  Church  of  Christ.  Dread,  then,  if  you 
persist  in  sin,  a  penalty  so  much  the  more  awful  and  terrible  as 
your  privileges  in  Christ  are  great  and  glorious.     And,  there- 


364  REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM. 

fore,  as  sons,  turn  with  repentance  and  sorrow  of  heart  to  your 
Father,  through  Jesus  Christ  your  Lord,  and  live  and  act  accord- 
ing to  your  position  and  your  privileges.  We  see  in  these 
Epistles,  everywhere,  the  Church  doctrine  of  Christian  baptism 
and  of  Christian  sonship,  our  doctrines  of  the  Spirit  and  of 
the  Church,  of  regeneration  and  justification,  and  nowhere  that 
other  ordinary  and  popular  notion. 

We  only  shall  refer,  further,  in  this  Epistle,  to  the  tenth 
chapter,  from  the  first  to  the  tenth  verse,  in  which  the  apostle 
compares  the  Church  to  the  Jewish  election  under  Moses,  so 
far  as  regards  tlie  universality  of  baptism,  and  its  privileges 
that  are  given  unto  all  the  baptized,  and  omitting  and  pass- 
ing by  circumcision,  states  that,  in  the  time  of  the  exodus, 
"  all  were  baptized  unto  Moses  in  the  cloud  and  in  the  sea  "  : 
"  Moreover,  brethren,  I  would  not  that  ye  should  be  ignorant, 
how  that  all  our  fathers  were  under  the  cloud,  and  all  passed 
through  the  sea ;  and  were  all  baptized  unto  Moses  in  the 
cloud  and  in  the  sea ;  and  did  all  eat  the  same  spir- 
itual meat,  and  did  all  drink  the  same  spiritual  drink :  for 
they  drank  of  that  spiritual  Rock  that  followed  them :  and 
that  Rock  was  Christ.  But  with  many  of  them  God  was  not 
well  pleased :  for  they  were  overthrown  in  the  wilderness. 
....  Wherefore  let  him  that  thinketh  he  standeth  take  heed 
lest  he  fall."  * 

The  same  allusion  we  find  here  to  the  universality  and 
reality  of  baptism  and  baptismal  privileges  in  the  Christian 
Church ;  as  also  to  the  fact  that  in  the  Old  Church,  as  in  the 
New,  were  m-any  who  did  not  live  up  to  their  privileges. 

We  go  now  to  a  passage  which,  in  its  declaration  that  man 
is  saved  by  baptism,  and  that  that  salvation  is  not  a  mere  efifect 
of  the  bodily  "  washing"  (/?a;rrr<T//oc)  is  most  plain.  And  yet, 
because  of  the  clumsiness  of  the  English  language,  compared 
with  the  Greek,  it  is  very  vague  and  confused  in  our  version. 

"  In  the  days  of  Noah,  while  the  ark  was  a  preparjng, 
wherein  few,  that  is,  eight  souls  were  saved  by  water.  The 
*I.  Cor.  X.  1-5, 12. 


REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM.  365 

antitype  [dvuTUTzou)  whereunto  even  baptism  doth  also  now 
save  us  (not  the  removal  of  the  uncleanness  of  the  body,  but 
the  answer  to  the  interrogations  of  a  good  conscience  toward 
God),  by  means  of  the  resurrection  of  Jesus  Christ :  who  has 
gone  into  heaven,  and  is  on  the  right  hand  of  God ;  angels 
and  dominions  and  powers  being  made  subject  unto  Him."  * 

The  ark  of  Noah,  from  the  earliest  times,  has  been  typical 
of  the  Church,  because  all  who  desire  to  be  saved  must  enter 
within  it.  Here,  then,  we  have  this  type  originating  in  Scripture 
history.  In  the  ark  of  Noah  few,  that  is,  eight,  souls  were 
saved  hy  water.  The  antitype,  the  reality  unto  which  the  type 
corresponds,  is  the  Church  of  God,  and  baptism,  by  which  we 
enter  within  it. 

We  can  see,  here,  much  meaning  is  lost,  in  the  English 
version,  by  the  use  of  the  word  "  figure  "  instead  of  "antitype." 
However,  we  suppose  the  ordinary  mass  of  the  congregation 
in  English  churches,  in  the  reign  of  James  I.,  would  not 
have  understood  the  word  "  antitype."  So  far  there  is  some 
slight  excuse.  But  still  the  word  "  figure "  is  in  no  sense  a 
translation  of  the  Scripture  word,  only  the  substitution  of  a 
meaning,  in  some  remote  and  vague  degree  corresponding. 

However,  to  resume,  God  was  pleased,  by  a  type,  to  signify 
His  Church,  its  baptism,  and  salvation  therein  and  thereby. 
The  ark  in  the  waters  was  the  type,  baptism  and  the  Church  the 
antitype.  We  are  saved,  therefore,  the  text  says,  by  baptism ; 
but  not,  in  a  mere  physical  point  of  view,  by  the  washing  of  the 
material  water ;  but  it  is  when  we  have  the  i7tep(i)Trjfj.a  of  a 
good  conscience  toward  God. 

This  word  is  translated  the  "  answer,"  but  it  means  more 
than  this:  it  is  "the  answer  to  the  questions,"  the  answer  to 
the  baptismal  interrogatories.  For  never,  in  the  Church,  was 
man  baptized,  but  that  the  officiating  minister  interrogated  him 
most  solemnly,  before  the  congregation,  as  to  his  repentance 
from  sin,  his  faith  toward  God,  his  promise  of  renunciation, 
and  his  vow  of  obedience  to  the  laws  of  God.  Upon  a  sincere 
*  I.  Peter,  iii.  20-22. 


366  REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM. 

answer  to  these  questions,  the  answer  of  a  good  conscience 
toward  God,  he  was  baptized.  To  be  able,  therefore,  con- 
scientiously, as  before  God,  to  profess  a  true  repentance  and 
faith,  and  a  sincere  determination  to  obey  God's  will,  is  a 
qualification,  on  our  part,  for  the  reception  of  baptism,  and, 
through  it,  of  salvation  in  the  Church  of  God. 

In  this  way,  baptism  saves  us, — not  physically,  by  means 
of  the  mere  washing  with  water ;  not  as  by  a  ceremonial  rite, 
requiring  no  qualification  on  our  part.  But  to  those  who  have 
true  faith  and  true  repentance,  the  reception  of  the  sacrament 
of  baptism  is  salvation ;  a  washing  by  the  Spirit,  in  the  blood  of 
Christ,  for  the  remission  of  all  past  sins ;  an  entrance  into  the 
ark  of  God,  the  Church  of  Christ  upon  the  earth.  And  this  is 
by  means  of  the  resurrection  of  Jesus  Christ,  who  is  gone  into 
heaven,  and  is  on  the  right  hand  of  God, — angels  and  dominions 
and  powers  being  made  subject  unto  Him, 

Dr.  Waterland,  upon  this  text,  says  :  "  St.  Peter  assures  us 
that  baptism  saves  us,  that  is,  it  gives  a  just  title  to  salvation 

But,  then,  it  must  be  understood,  not  of  the  outward 

washing,  but  of  the  inward  lively  faith  stiptdated  in  it ;  and 
by  it  baptism  concurs  vnth  faith,  and  faith  with  haptism, 
and  the  Holy  Spirit  with  hoth  ;  and  so  the  merits  of  Christ 
are  savingly  applied.  Faith  alone  will  not  ordinarily  save 
in  this  case,  but  it  must  be  a  contracting  faith  on  man's  part, — 
contracting  in  form  corresponding  to  the  federal  promises 
and  engagements  on  God's  part  /  therefore,  Tertullian  right- 
fully styles  baptism,  '  obsignatio  fidei,'  '  testatio  fidei,'  '  sponsio 
salutis,'  '  fidei  pactio,'  *  and  the  like."  f 

In  the  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews  there  is  an  allusion  to  the 
conscientious  reception  of  baptism,  and  the  powers  it  confers 

*  Tertullian  was  a  Roman  lawyer,  and  these  Latin  phrases  are  terms  of 
the  Roman  law,  signifying  the  obligation  of  contract,  with  witnesses,  in- 
struments, seals,  and  magisterial  sanctions.  As  the  mere  translation  of  the 
words  would  give  no  adequate  sense,  we  leave  them  untranslated,  referring 
to  any  ordinary  manual  of  the  Roman  law. 

\  Dr.  Waterland,  cited  by  Bishop  Wordsworth. 


REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM.  367 

Tipon  us,  which  corresponds  most  exactly  with  this  passage  of 
St.  Peter  :  "  Having  therefore,  brethren,  hbertj  to  enter  into  • 
the  holiest  by  the  blood  of  Jesus,  by  the  new  and  living  way, 
which  He  hath  consecrated  for  us,  through  the  veil,  that 
is  to  say.  His  flesh ;  and  having  a  great  High  Priest  over  the 
house  of  God ;  let  us  draw  near  with  a  true  heart,  having  been 
sprinkled  from  an  evil  conscience  as  to  our  hearts,  and  having 
been  baptized  (washed)  as  to  our  bodies  with  the  pure  water. 
Let  us  hold  fast  the  confession  of  our  faith  without  wavering 
(faithful  is  He  that  hath  promised  unto  us) ;  and  let  us  con- 
sider one  another  to  excite  unto  love  and  good  works :  not 
neglecting  the  assembling  of  ourselves  together,  as  the  man- 
ner of  some  is :  and  so  much  the  more  as  ye  see  the  day  ap- 
proaching." 

Here  is  the  confession  of  faith,  the  Christian  creed,  that  is 
to  be  held  without  wavering.  Here  is  He  who  hath  promised, 
or  rather  hath  stipulated  unto  us,  in  the  new  covenant,  upon 
fixed  conditions,  and  also  the  absolute  certainty  of  His  faith- 
fulness. Here,  our  hearts  sprinkled  from  an  evil  conscience, 
cleansed,  that  is,  sacrificially,  by  the  purifying  blood  of  Christ, 
our  atonement  and  sacrifice, — the  allusion  being  to  the  High 
Priest  who,  on  the  great  day  of  atonement,  slew  the  sacrifice, 
and  offered  it  up  for  the  sins  of  the  whole  people,  and 
then,  with  the  blood  of  the  victim,  entered  into  the  most  holy 
place,  and  "  sjarinkled  the  blood  upon  the  mercy-seat  eastward  ; 
and  before  the  mercy-seat  shall  he  sprinkle  of  the  blood,  with 
his  finger  seven  times."  Here,  too,  is  the  fact  that  we  have 
been  washed  in  the  cleansing  waters  of  baptism,  and  that  the 
atoning  blood  of  Christ  our  Lord  has  been  applied  thereby  to 
our  souls,  not  "the  sprinkling  of  the  blood  of  bulls  and  goats 
which  can  never  take  away  sin."  The  reality  of  Christian 
baptism,  and  of  the  Christian  covenant  in  it,  accepted  publicly 
in  the  Church,  is  clearly  asserted  here  in  the  whole  passage. 
And  then  we  see  how  naturally  these  thoughts  of  the  circum- 
stances, place,  time,  and  witnesses  of  baptism  lead  the  apostle 
to  the  consideration  of  strict  attendance  on  the  public  worship 


368  REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM. 

of  the  Church, — "  IS^ot  forsaking  the  assembhng  of  yourselves 
together  as  the  manner  of  some  is." 

In  this  last  passage,  our  readers  will  not  fail  to  notice  the 
union  of  the  "  washing  of  our  bodies  w\i\\  the  pure  water,"  with 
"  the  sprinkling  of  our  hearts  from  an  evil  conscience," — the 
combination,  that  is,  of  the  material  element  and  the  spiritual 
cleansing.  The  same  thing,  also,  may  be  seen  in  the  passage 
cited  from  St.  Peter ;  the  answer  of  a  conscience  pure  before 
God  is,  then,  also  connected  with  the  baptism  in  water.  St. 
Paul,  furthermore,  illustrates  the  same  doctrine  in  the  narration 
he  gives  of  his  own  baptism,  when  he  tells  us  how  Ananias 
said  to  him,  "And  now  why  tarri est  thou  ?  arise,  and  he  hap- 
tised,  and  wash  away  thy  sins,  calling  upon  the  name  of  the 
Lord."* 

And,  again,  when  the  jailor  at  Philippi  asked  of  the  same 
apostle,  "  What  must  I  do  to  be  saved  ? "  Paul  answered : 
"  Believe  on  the  Lord  Jesus  and  thou  shalt  be  saved,  and  thy 
house."  This,  of  course,  involved  immediate  and  exact  obedi- 
ence to  all  the  law  of  Christ.  And,  therefore,  although  it  was 
midnight,  "  he  and  all  his  house  w^ere  baptized  forthwith,"  an 
act,  certainly,  on  the  part  of  the  apostle,  which  shows  that  he 
held,  upon  the  matter  of  faith  and  baptism,  quite  a  different 
doctrine  from  that  of  those,  in  modern  times,  who  say  that  faith 
is  everything,  and  baptism  of  no  importance.  An  act,  surely, 
that  is  based  on  nothing  else  than  the  truth  and  obligation,  in 
both  its  clauses  equally,  of  the  text,  saying,  "  He  that  believeth 
and  is  baptized  shall  be  saved."  And,  therefore,  at  midnight, 
the  apostle  preaches  the  duty  of  faith,  and  the  promise  of  salva- 
tion, to  the  jailor;  at  midnight  he  believes,  and  '■'•  forthioith  is 
hajptizedP  And  thus,  in  the  primitive  days,  when  the  Gospel 
was  in  its  early  youth,  men  never  delayed,  or  put  off,  the 
baptism  of  Christ.  They  never  questioned  it,  or  balanced 
one  part  of  baptism  against  anotlier.  They  never  divided 
it,  even  in  thought.  They  simply,  as  we  see,  received  it,  in 
full  faith,  in  its  totality ;  and  this  they  did  without  delay,  just 

*Act8,  xxii.  16. 


REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM.  369 

as  soon  after  their  conversion  as  they  were  permitted  by  the 
Church. 

When  we  look  over  these  examples  of  doctrine  and  practice 
on  the  part  of  the  apostles,  what  an  exact  and  literal  fidelity 
do  we  see  in  them  to  the  commission  of  Christ  their  Lord  ?  It 
has  pleased  God,  by  means  of  the  sacrament  of  baptism,  to 
give  certain  gifts  on  certain  conditions.  And  they,  as  the 
ambassadors  of  God,  the  apostles  of  His  Son,  are  the  ministers 
of  that  sacrament.  They  preach  those  conditions,  which  are 
faith  and  repentance,  boldly ;  they  demand,  everywhere  and 
at  all  times,  submission  to  the  sacrament  of  baptism.  And 
just  as  boldly  do  they  declare  that  the  gift  of  the  Holy  Spirit 
is  given  to  those  who,  under  these  conditions,  receive  that 
sacrament. 

And  yet,  how  far  from  arrogance  is  their  preaching  and 
their  practice,  although  they  are  ministers  of  such  an  unspeak- 
able gift.  The  apostles  give  the  sacrament,  and  in  the  sacra- 
ment Christ  gives  regeneration  and  remission  of  sins.  It  had 
been  said  to  them,  "  Whose  sins  ye  remit,  they  are  remitted 
unto  them  "  ;  yet  no  apostle  says,  "7  remit  your  sins."  Wor, 
in  the  Church,  for  twelve  hundred  years  after  Christ,  was  any 
such  indicative  form  of  absolution  used.  Only  in  the  arro- 
gant papal  Church  of  the  West  was  it  introduced,  after  that 
long  tract  and  lapse  of  time.  For  the  sense  of  the  Church  as 
the  actual  kingdom  of  Christ,  existing  supernaturally  in  this 
world,  the  sense  of  Christ  as  our  King,  and  as  actually  reigning 
here  in  the  world  with  us, — this  implies  a  miraculous  and  super- 
natural work  in  His  baptism,  done  iy  Himself  ever  present  in 
His  sacraments,  and  by  His  Spirit,  although  it  be  discernible 
only  by  the  eyes  of  faith. 

This  thouo-ht  forbids  His  ministers  froni  attributing  that 
work  to  themselves.  They  can  say,  then,  to  the  baptized, 
"  Your  sins  are  forgiven  in  your  baptism,  for  so  Christ  himself 
says  in  the  commission  He  gave  to  His  apostles ;  but  it  is  God 
the  Father,  through  Christ,  our  ever-present  King  and  Priest, 
that  forgives  them  by  the  power  and  gift  of  the  Holy  Ghost. 
24 


370  REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM. 

We  do  not  forgive  sins,  only  ministerially.  He  is  with  us, 
and  He  it  is  that  forgives  your  sins.  We  are  not  the  agents  of 
a  principal  that  is  far  away,  a  Christ  that  is  not  here,  but  in 
heaven  ;  but  we  are  the  ministers,  to  man,  of  a  living  and  pres- 
ent Christ.     He  is  witli  us  always,  unto  the  end  of  the  world." 

We  return,  and  add  two  passages  more,  that  are  most  inter- 
esting, as  well  from  the  allusions  they  contain  as  from  the 
doctrine  that  is  in  them.  The  first  is  in  the  Epistle  of  St. 
Paul  to  the  Ejjhesians:  "Husbands,  love  your  wives,  even  as 
Christ  loved  the  Church,  and  gave  Himself  for  it ;  that  He  might 
sanctify  and  cleanse  it  by  the  washing  (or  baptism)  of  the  water 
with  the  Word,  that  He  might  present  it  to  Himself  a  glori- 
ous Church,  not  having  spot,  or  wrinkle,  or  any  such  thing; 
that  it  should  be  holy  and  without  blemish."  *  Here  is  the 
Church  represented  as  sanctified  and  cleansed  by  the  washing 
or  baptism  of  the  water.  The  article  is  in  the  original,  and 
wrongly  omitted  in  tlie  English  translation.  Unquestionably 
it  is  the  baptism,  or  the  washing  of  the  sacramental  water, 
wherein  all  are  baptized.  It  will  be  remembered  that  the 
same  word  is  used  in  a  passage  before  cited, — "■  We  are  saved 
by  the  washing  of  regeneration  and  the  renewing  of  the  Holy 
Ghost."  It  may  be,  therefore,  fairly  concluded  that  the  wash- 
ing of  regeneration — that  is,  baptism — by  which  we  are  said,  in 
one  Epistle,  to  be  saved,  is  the  same  as  the  washing  of  the 
water  with  the  Word,  by  which  the  Church  is  sanctified  and 
cleansed  in  the  other. 

To  return,  we  need  only  remark,  furthermore,  that  this 
passage  looks  forward  to  the  state  of  the  Church  in  glory, — 
when,  at  the  judgment-day,  the  Bride,  the  Lamb's  wife,  shall 
be  presented  to  Him,  free  from  all  pollution,  for  the  Church 
upon  earth  is  the  field  that  contains  within  it  tares  (darnel,  that 
is)  and  wheat;  at  the  judgment-day  the  reapers  shall  sepa- 
rate the  tares  from  the  wheat.  And,  therefore,  npon  earth,  the 
work  of  the  baptized  man  is  by  the  Word,  and  by  the  renew- 
ing of  the  Holy  Spirit,  to  labor  that  he  may  be  sanctified  and 
*  Ephesians.  v.  25-27. 


REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM.  371 

cleansed,  so  that  in  the  regeneration  he  may  stand  before  God 
a  glorified  man,  in  the  glorious  Church.  And,  as  this  is  the 
final  cause  of  the  abidance  of  the  man  upon  earth  for  the  period 
between  his  regeneration  and  the  judgment-day,  so  it  is  of 
the  Church.  She  abides  in  the  world  until  that  time,  being 
cleansed  continually  by  the  Spirit  and  the  Word,  being  here 
the  Church  militant  and  suffering  {Ecclesia  militans  et  patiens) 
upon  earth,  that  there  she  may  be  manifested  as  the  Church 
in  glorj^,  the  Church  triumphant  in  heaven. 

We  adduce  one  passage  more  in  the  writings  of  St.  Paul : 
"  For  ye  are  all  the  sons  of  God  through  the  faith  in  Christ 
Jesus.  For  yoti.^  as  many  as  have  been  baptized  into  Christ 
have  put  on  Christ.  There  is,  in  Him,  neither  Jew  nor  Greek  ; 
there  is,  in  Him,  neither  slave  nor  freeman  ;  there  is  not,  in 
Him,  male  and  female:  for  ye  are  all  one  in  Christ  Jesus. 
And  if  ye  are  Christ's,  therefore  are  ye  the  seed  of  Abraham, 
and  the  heirs  according  to  the  promise."  *  Again,  "  When 
the  fulness  of  time  was  come,  God  sent  forth  His  Son,  made  of 
a  woman,  made  under  the  Law,  .  .  .  that  we  might  receive 
the  adoption  of  sons.  And  because  ye  are  sons,  God  hath  sent 
forth  the  Spirit  of  His  Son  into  your  hearts,  crying,  Abba, 
Father.  Wherefore  thou  art  no  more  a  bondsman,  but  a  son  ; 
and  if  a  son,  then  an  heir  of  God  through  Jesus  Christ."  f 

See  the  doctrine  here,  "  Ye  are  all  sons  of  God,  through 
the  faith  in  Christ  Jesus.  For  you,  as  many  as  have  been 
baptized  into  Christ,  have  put  on  Christ."  All  the  baptized 
are  sons  of  God,  children  of  the  kingdom,  and,  therefore,  all 
distinctions  of  nation,  condition,  and  sex,  become  as  nothing 
in  the  presence  of  that  transcendent  Sonship,  that  brother- 
hood of  ours  to  the  glorified  God-man.  Being,  therefore,  sons 
of  God  by  the  faith  in  Christ,  and  by  your  baptism  je  are 
Abraham's  seed,  and  the  true  Israel  of  God.  Ye,  not  the 
synagogue,  the  Jews  by  nation  and  birth, — Israel  according 
to  the  flesh. 

But,  is  it  not  the  doctrine  of  the  Scriptures,  that  it  is  hy 
*  Gal.  iii.  2&-29.  f  Gal.  iv.  4^7. 


372  REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM. 

faith  that  we  are  the  sons  of  God,  and  not  hy  hajptismf  "We 
saj,  in  reply,  there  is  nojpassage  in  Holy  Writ  which  so  sjpeaJas 
of  faith  as  to  exclude  baptism,'  that  says  that  we  are  regen- 
erated by  faith,  not  by  baptism.  It  is  simply  the  argumen- 
tation of  narrow-minded  men,  of  contracted  views  and  poor 
understanding, — men  utterly  illogical,  deficient  in  the  first  prin- 
ciples of  reasoning,  and  in  the  most  ordinary  scientific  knowl- 
edge of  the  value  and  meaning  of  language. 

Our  readers  will  remark  that  their  argument  is  this :  "  We 
are  saved  by  faith,"  therefore,  "  we  are  not  saved  by  baptism." 
"  We  are  the  sons  of  God  by  faith,"  therefore,  "  not  by  bap- 
tism." The  very  gist  of  the  argument  rests  upon  the  principle 
herein  taken  for  granted, — that  that  which  is  caused  by  the  one 
cannot,  in  any  way,  be  caused  by  the  other ;  the  idea  and 
fact  of  causation  being  expressed  in  English  by  the  word  "  by." 
And  yet  this  principle  will  not  stand,  even  upon  the  face  of 
the  Scripture,  as  it  appears  in  the  plain  English  Bible.  For  we 
are  "justified  by  faith."  *  We  are  "justified  by  His  blood."  f 
We  are  "justified  by  His  grace.":}:  AVe  are  "justified  by 
works."  §  £y  each  of  these  causes,  distinctly,  our  justification  is 
said,  in  the  Bible,  to  be  efi'ected,  yet  not  one  of  them  shuts  out  or 
excludes  the  other.  What  comes  of  that  principle,  then,  in  the 
face  of  these  passages  ?  It  certainly  is  gone.  All  these  passages 
are  perfectly  true  ;  yet  in  them  our  justification  is  ascribed  to 
dilferent  causes,  and  the  word  of  cause,  "  by,"  is  used  with  each 
and  every  one  of  them.  The  one  cause,  however,  does  not 
exclude  the  other,  for  these,  all  of  them,  are  causes  in  different 
senses.  Our  justification  is  by  the  sacrifice  and  atonement  of 
our  Lord,  "  the  blood  of  Christ,"  as  the  efficient  cause.  Our 
faith  is  the  instrumental  cause  on  our  part,  the  hand  which 
we  reach  forth  to  receive  and  appropriate  that  sacrifice  to  our- 
selves. The  grace  of  the  Spirit  is  the  instrumental  cause  on 
the  part  of  our  Lord,  by  which  He  confers  upon  our  faith  that 
gift.  And  by  works  we  are  justified,  as  the  realizing  cause. 
Our  faith  is  evinced  and  manifested,  as  real,  by  our  works,  as 
*  Rom.  iii.  28.         f  Rom.  v.  9.         %  Titus,  iii.  7.        §  St.  James,  ii.  24. 


REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM.  373 

a  tree  is  known  by  its  fruits.  Let  us  look  at  this  example,  and 
we  shall  see  that  this  small  word  "  by,"  having  in  it  only  two 
letters,  has  an  extensive  variety  of  meanings  that  is  hardly 
dreamed  of  by  the  mass  of  men,  certainly  not  understood 
thoroughly  by  any  but  the  very  thoughtful  and  the  educated. 
In  fact,  in  the  famous  "  Port  Koyal  Logic,"  two  whole  pages* 
are  occupied  in  specifying  all  the  varieties  of  the  idea  of  cause 
which  are  expressed  by  the  one  little  English  word  "  by."  In 
each  of  these  the  word  "  by  "  can  be  employed  in  a  different 
causal  sense. 

And  we  ordinarily  use  the  same  variety  of  meaning  in  Eng- 
lish, without  ever  dreaming  that  the  asserting  of  one  cause 
excludes  the  other.  Let  us  frame  a  slight  parable,  extempora- 
neously, in  illustration  of  this  variety  of  meanings.  A  man 
falls  overboard  from  a  ship  at  sea.  The  captain  orders  the 
mate  to  lower  a  boat  for  him.  It  is  done,  and  he  is  reached. 
A  rope  is  thrown  to  him,  which  he  grasps  with  his  hands,  and 
is  pulled  into  the  boat  by  the  sailors,  and  brought  back  to  the 
ship  and  saved.  See  what  a  concurrence  of  causes  herein  to 
his  rescue,  and  hy  them  all,  and  each,  he  is  saved.  First,  he  is 
saved  hy  the  captain  ;  secondly,  he  is  saved  l>y  the  mate ;  thirdly, 
he  is  saved  hy  the  sailors  ;  fourthly,  he  is  saved  hy  the  rope  ; 
fifthly,  he  is  saved  hy  his  own  hands  that  grasped  it  ;  nay, 
sixthly,  he  is  saved  hy  the  boat ;  and  seventhly,  hy  the  ship,  in 
a  certain  and  true  sense.  All  these  are  concurring  causes,  and 
real  causes ;  of  any  one  of  them,  the  saving  of  the  man  is  as- 
serted truly.  Ordinary  men  of  common  sense  would  use  the 
particle  "by"  of  any  one  of  them,  and  feel  no  difficulty.  They 
all  concur,  and  the  assertion  of  the  causality  of  one  of  them 
does  not  shut  out  all  or  any  one  of  the  others.  "VVe  can  say 
that  he  is  saved  by  any  one  of  them,  and  so  to  say  does  not 
exclude  any  other,  for,  in  reality  and  fact,  all  these  concur  as 
causes  to  save  the  man  from  drowning.  Such  a  multitude  of 
meanings,  or  rather  such  a  manifold  ambiguity  of  meaning,  has 

*  See  translation  by  Thomas  Spencer  Baynes,  pp.  242-245.    Edinburgh, 
1851.  • 


374  REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM. 

the  English  causal  preposition  "  by."  In  the  above  parable,  the 
Greek  language  would  have  four  or  five  different  prepositions 
to  express  the  varieties  of  cause. 

Now,  look  at  the  salvation  of  man  as  it  is  described  through- 
out the  New  Testament.  See  the  manifold  concurrence  of 
causes ;  first,  on  the  part  of  God  the  Father,  the  Son,  and  the 
Holj  Ghost ;  and  secondly,  on  the  part  of  man,  until  the  time 
when  formally  and  distinctly  he  professes  his  belief  and  is  bap- 
tized. And  this  parable,  which  we  have  employed  to  illus- 
trate the  use  of  the  English  word  "  by,"  sliall  become  a  very 
fair  parable  to  ilhistrate  the  concurrence  of  the  various  influ- 
ences and  causes  that  produce  his  salvation.  Here  is  the  love 
of  God  the  Father  leading  man  onward.  Here  is  His  power 
guiding,  controlling,  overruling  him,  in  manifold  providential 
ways ;  the  teachings  of  a  father,  the  sacred  influence  of  a 
mother's  example,  the  preaching,  perhaps,  or  catechizing  of  a 
clergyman,  the  conversation  or  the  influence  of  a  religious 
friend,  the  infinite  variety  of  external  circumstances  that  come 
in  contact  with  man  in  his  course  of  life,  all  of  them  guided,  and 
by  the  hand  of  the  Almighty  God.  Then,  again,  we  have  the 
man's  OAvn  repentance,  his  own  faith,  his  own  submission  unto 
Christ, — free  acts  of  his  own  will,  although  coming  in  their 
origin  from  the  Spirit,  and  gifts  of  grace, — all  these  concur- 
rently have  brought  the  man  onward  to  the  holy  sacrament  of 
baptism. 

And  then,  in  it,  we  find  with  the  mouth  confession  made 
unto  salvation,  a  declaration,  that  is,  of  his  repentance  and  of 
his  faith  in  Christ  our  Saviour.  We  find  vows  to  abandon  sin 
and  to  keep  God's  holy  law.  Again,  we  find  the  act  of  bap- 
tism, the  washing  with  water  and  the  application  of  the  Sacred 
Words.  We  find  in  it,  also,  the  instrumental  work  of  the  Holy 
Spirit ;  the  atonement  of  our  Lord's  sacrifice  applied  ;  His  in- 
dwelling life  given ;  entrance  within  His  body,  the  Church, 
conferred  ;  and  remission  of  sins  bestowed.  Look  at  the  num- 
ber and  variety  of  concurrent  causes,  special  and  instrumental, 
on  the  part  of  God  and  on  the  part  of  nf&n,  to  each  and  every 


REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM.  375 

one  of  which,  in  senses  as  various,  the  man's  salvation  is  to  be 
ascribed.  And  then,  thinking  how  the  assertion  of  no  one  of 
these  will  exclude  the  other,  it  will  be  manifest  that  such  an 
assertion  as  that  we  are  saved  by  faith  is  most  perfectly  con- 
sistent witli  the  assertion  "  Baptism  doth  also  now  save  us ;  " 
the  assertion  that  "  we  are  sons  of  God  through  faith  "  is  per- 
fectly in  agreement  with  the  doctrine  that  "  we  are  born  of 
water  and  of  the  Spirit ;  "  faith  being  the  hand  which  we 
reach  out,  and  by  which  we  appropriate  to  ourselves  the  gift  of 
regeneration  which  is  conferred  upon  us  by  Christ  our  Lord, 
in  our  baptism,  by  the  Spirit. 

AVe  preach,  therefore,  to  all  men,  the  goodness  and  kind- 
ness of  God  the  Father  Almighty  toward  all  tlie  human  race. 
We  preach,  also,  the  doctrine  of  the  Everlasting  Word ;  that 
He  is  the  Eternal  Son  of  the  Eternal  Father  ;  that  for  us  He 
came  down  from  heaven  and  was  incarnate  by  the  Holy  Ghost 
of  the  Vii'gin  Mary,  and  was  made  man ;  that  He  suffered 
and  died  for  us,  and  then  ascended  into  heaven,  and  now  is 
sitting  on  the  right  hand  of  the  Father.  We  preach,  also,  the 
doctrine  of  the  Eternal  Spirit  coming  forth  from  the  Father  and 
the  Son,  to  us  and  to  all  men,  with  perpetual  solicitations,  draw- 
ing every  son  of  man  onward,  in  manifold  ways,  to  repentance 
from  sin  and  to  faith  in  God  ;  and,  again,  organizing  the  Church 
of  God  upon  earth,  and  making  it  the  body  of  Christ,  and  by 
spiritual  regeneration  bringing  men  within  it,  implanting  in 
them  the  life  of  Christ,  and  mystically  uniting  them  with  His 
body. 

All  this  we  preach  in  reference  to  the  Holy  Trinity,  and  the 
work  upon  the  earth  of  tlie  Father,  the  Son,  and  the  Holy 
Spirit.  We,  therefore,  proclaim  to  all  men  that,  by  nature,  as 
born  into  the  world,  they  are  dead  in  trespasses  and  sins,  and 
they  can  become  alive  only  through  Christ  our  Lord,  and  His 
Spirit.  They  are  in  a  state  of  condemnation  ;  they  can  enter 
into  a  state  of  grace  and  salvation.  And  all  this  can  be  done 
through  the  atonement  and  sacrilice  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ, 
the  Lamb  of  God  that  taketh  away  the  sins  of  the  world ;  by  our 


376  REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM. 

accepting  Him  in  the  way  He  has  appointed,  with  a  true  re- 
pentance and  a  living  faith  entering  into  covenant  with  Him  ; 
becoming  sons  of  God  and  members  of  the  election ;  and  that 
this  is  effected  and  consummated  by  the  supernatural  operation 
and  work  of  the  Holy  Spirit, — regenerating  us  in  baptism, 
and  making  us  therein  and  thereby  the  sons  of  God. 

Thus  do  we  preach  the  doctrine  of  the  One  Holy  Catholic 
Church,  visible  upon  the  earth,  from  the  time  of  Christ  until 
now,  and  indefectible,  to  continue  until  the  consummation  of 
all  things ;  the  doctrine,  also,  of  the  sacraments  as  outward  and 
visible  signs  of  the  inward  invisible  grace  ;  the  doctrine  of  a 
true  and  real  new  birth  in  baptism,  evident  to  the  eyes  of  all 
men,  and  the  distinct  terminus  and  definite  point  of  division 
between  the  state  of  mere  nature  and  the  supernatural  state  of 
regeneration  and  grace. 

And  then,  to  all  those  within  the  Church  of  Christ,  we 
preach,  as  to  the  sons  of  God,  the  doctrines  of  a  life  of  faith 
and  holiness ;  the  realization  of  their  high  privileges, — that,  as 
sons,  we  should  be  led  by  the  Spirit  of  God;  as  sons,  we  should 
be  transformed  to  the  image  of  His  dear  Son ;  as  sons,  we  should 
look  forward  perpetually  to  that  day — the  last  of  time,  the  first 
of  eternity — wherein  our  sonship,  begun  in  this  world,  shall  be 
consummated,  and  that  regeneration — of  which,  by  faith,  we 
receive  the  first-fruits,  and  are  assured  upon  earth — shall  be 
made  perfect  and  complete  in  glory. 

"Behold,"  says  the  beloved  apostle  St.  John,  the  kinsman 
of  our  Lord,  writing  to  the  whole  Church,  "  what  manner  ot 
love  the  Father  hath  bestowed  upon  us,  that  we  should  be  called 
the  sons  of  God  :  therefore  the  world  knoweth  us  not,  because 
it  knew  Him  not.  Beloved,  now  are  we  the  sons  of  God,  and 
it  is  not  yet  manifested  what  we  shall  be :  but  we  know  that, 
when  He  is  manifested,  we  shall  be  like  unto  Him ;  for  we 
shall  see  Him  as  He  is.  And  every  one  that  hath  this  hojpe  in 
himself  jpurifieth  himself,  even  as  He  is  pure  y  * 

*  I.  John,  iii.  1-3. 


CONCLUDING  CHAPTER. 

Our  task  is  now  finislied.  We  have  laid  before  the  children 
of  the  Church  the  evidence  for  the  Scriptural  doctrine  of  re- 
generation in  baptism,  and  that,  we  trust,  in  such  a  way  that  any 
plain,  honest  son  or  daughter  of  the  Church  may  see  it  in  its 
whole  extent,  its  entire  weight  and  significance,  and,  above  all, 
in  its  clear  and  beautiful  harmony  with  all  the  doctrines  of  the 
Gospel,  and  all  the  principles  of  Christian  holiness.  And, 
while  this  broad  and  extended  statement  of  facts  and  principles 
is,  we  hope,  so  distinct  and  clear  as  to  be  easily  understood, 
even  by  the  unlearned  in  the  Church — if  they  only  have  their 
Bible  and  their  Prayer  Book  in  their  hands— at  the  same  time 
we  assure  our  i*eaders  that  it  has  cost  us  much  time  and  research 
and  toil ;  for  this  treatise,  as  they  have  it  before  them,  has 
occupied  all  tlie  time  we  could  spare  for  more  than  six  years. 
There  is  not  an  argument  or  principle  in  it  that  we  have  not 
tested  again  and  again ;  not  a  quotation  that  we  have  not 
verified ;  not  an  exegesis  of  the  Scriptures  which  we  do  not 
consider  sound  and  correct. 

We  would,  therefore,  sum  up  what  we  have  done.  After 
having,  in  the  preliminary  chapter,  declared  that  there  are  three 
distinct  systems  upon  the  doctrine  of  regeneration — first,  our 
own,  which  is  that  of  the  Scriptures  and  the  primitive  Church ; 
secondly,  the  Predestinarian  or  Calvinist  system  ;  and,  thirdly, 
the  Methodist  or  Lutheran  system, — each  of  these  last  in  such 
utter  antagonism  to  ours,  that  the  holding  of  the  one  must  ex- 
clude the  other  from  the  mind — we  go  on,  then,  in  the  first  book, 
to  give  the  documentary  evidence  of  our  standards  in  favor  of 
our  own  system.     We  open  the  Prayer  Book  to  our  readers. 


378  REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM. 

Creeds,  Serv-ices,  Catechism,  and  Articles, — these  are  spread  be- 
fore them  upon  our  pages.  That,  in  so  many  forms,  they  assert 
regeneration  in  baptism  as  the  true  and  Scriptural  doctrine  is 
made  manifest  to  the  eye  and  the  mind  of  the  reader.  That 
the  assertion  and  confession  of  the  doctrine  is  publicly  enforced 
upon,  and  required  of,  every  bishop,  every  clergyman,  every 
layman  of  our  Church,  in  their  most  solemn  offices  of  worship 
before  God,  in  the  Church,  is  amply  shown.  That  it  is  every- 
where publicly  asserted  and  declared,  and  also  understood  and 
implied  and  taken  for  granted,  through  the  whole  book  in  all 
its  parts,  is  made,  we  trust,  most  evident,  from  the  Prayer  Book 
itself 

And  then,  in  order  to  aid  our  readers  to  a  further  sense  of 
the  weight  of  the  legal  and  documentary  argument  and  proof 
tlmt  baptismal  regeneration,  by  our  standards,  is  the  doctrine  of 
our  Church,  we  give  them  profuse  quotations  to  that  effect  from 
the  great  theologians  of  the  English  Church,  and  of  our  own, — 
men,  whose  names,  even  in  an  intellectual  and  literary  point  of 
view,  ring  through  the  world.  These  great  men  are  seen  upon 
our  pages  to  assert  our  doctrine  as  true  and  Scriptural,  in  their 
own  words.  Their  genius,  their  eloquence,  their  learning,  their 
fame,  and,  above  all,  their  holiness  and  laith,  give  tremendous 
additional  weight  to  the  legal  argument. 

This  accumulation  of  evidence,  we  think,  must  fully  con- 
vince any  one  that  weighs  it  calmly  and  without  prejudice, 
and  Nvith  any  appreciation  of  the  value  of  testimony,  that  the 
doctrine  of  regeneration  in  baptism  is  the  doctrine  of  all  our 
standards ;  of  the  Creeds,  the  Services,  the  Catechism,  the  Ar- 
ticles ;  of  every  document  by  which  w^e  are  bound,  as  clergy  or- 
dained, or  as  laity  baptized  and  confirmed,  in  the  Church.  What- 
ever meaning  you  may  attach  to  the  term,  whatever  practical 
conclusion  you  may  draw  from  it,  in  whatever  way  you  may 
connect  it  with  life  and  action,  the  doctrine  or  eegeneeation 

LN"  BAPTISM,  IS  THE  DOCTRINE  OF  THE  ChURCH,  ABSOLUTELY,  UN- 
MISTAKABLY, DISTINCTLY  ASSERTED,  IN  ALL   HER  STANDARDS. 

The  second   book  we  give  to  the  meaning  and  purport 


REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM.  379 

of  tlie  doctrine,  the  practical  truth  and  fact,  of  baptismal  re- 
generation. We  show  therein  what  it  is, — its  connection  with 
the  other  doctrines  of  the  Church, — its  sanctifying  influences 
upon  life  and  conduct, — and  we  end  this  book  with  a  summary 
of  the  system  of  the  Gospel,  according  to  the  Church. 

Upon  this  sunnnary  we  have  spent  a  great  deal  of  time 
and  labor,  and  we  will  say  that  we  think  it  embraces  a  very 
distinct  and  scientific  statement  of  the  whole  doctrine  of  the_ 
Church  upon  baptism  and  the  Christian  life,  expressed  clearly, 
in  all  its  connections  and  relations. 

And  here  w^e  must  say  that  in  the  whole  of  this  book  our 
main  object  has  been  so  to  state  the  Church  doctrine  as  to 
keep  our  readers  clear  of  the  two  systems  of  Geneva  and 
Rome,  and  to  give  purely  all  the  truth  which  each  of  these 
accepts,  and  at  the  same  time  adulterates  and  alloys.  For  the 
Romish  system,  and  that  of  Calvin,  in  this,  are  highly  similar, 
— each  of  them  is  logical  and  systematic  in  the  extreme ;  in 
each,  also,  there  are  grains  of  glorious  truth,  but  mixed  up 
with  the  most  poisonous  alloy.  It  has  been,  therefore,  our 
object  and  task,  in  this  book,  to  state  the  true  Church  doctrine 
so  as  to  embrace  all  the  truth,  free  from  those  adulterations;  to 
show  the  firm  and  secure  position,  in  this  world,  of  the  sons 
of  God,  apart  from  fate  and  the  denial  of  free-will,  on  the  one 
hand,  and  from  Pharisaic  legalism  and  ceremonial  bondage 
and  formalism,  on  the  other.  And  yet  we  have  been  careful  to 
do  this  by  the  cautious  and  precise  statement  of  our  own  doc- 
trines, abstaining  from  controversy  against  these  two  antagon- 
ists,— opposed  to  one  another  and  each  of  them  to  us, — hostile 
camps  on  the  north  and  on  the  south  of  our  position. 

We  believe  in  no  via  media.,  no  attempt  like  that  of  Mr. 
Kewman,  to  make  a  compromise  of  doctrine  carried  out  by 
taking  a  little  bit  of  Popery,  a  little  bit  of  Calvinism,  and  a 
little  bit  of  Lutheranism,  and  from  them  compounding  a  body 
of  doctrine  and  practice  to  please  all  tastes  and  tickle  all  pal- 
ates. No  !  we  believe  in  a  systematic  and  consistent  body  of 
doctrine,  held  by  the  pure  Church  of  the  first  centuries,  over 


380  REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM. 

tlie  whole  world,  when  it  was  entirely  free  from  the  State. 
From  this,  these  other  doctrines  are  divergencies  and  aberra- 
tions, on  the  right  hand  and  on  the  left,  beginning  at  once 
after  Constantine,  and  then  to  grow  and  to  reach  their  ripeness 
and  perfection  of  system  only  in  the  course  and  tract  of  ages.* 
And  then,  finally,  as  we  have  Loped,  to  be  met  in  these  last 
days  by  a  State-free  American  Catholic  Church,  with  a  system 
of  pure  primitive  doctrine,  embracing  all  the  truths  that  they 
hold,  practical  and  doctrinal,  without  their  corruptions, — the 
pure  gold  freed  at  last  from  the  poisonous  alloy. 

And  we  hope  that  in  this  second  book  we  have  succeeded 
in  a  measure  in  conveying  to  our  readers  the  deep  feeling,  the 
absolute  certainty,  that  we  have  of  the  truth,  the  beauty,  the 
glory,  the  wonderful  adaptedness  to  man's  condition  in  this 
world  of  the  doctrine  of  regeneration  in  baptism.  For  as  the 
doctrine  of  the  Holy  Trinity — God  the  Father,  God  the  Son, 
and  God  the  Holy  Spirit,  three  persons  in  one  God — is  the 
central  doctrine  of  all  revelation  as  concerns  God,  so  that  the 
Son  became  man,  and  died  for  man,  and  therefore,  that  man 
upon  this  earth  can  become  and  be  (his  whole  life  through),  in 
a  most  true  and  real  sense,  the  son  of  God, — this  is  the  central 
doctrine  of  revelation  with  regard  to  man.  Thus,  and  thus 
alone,  the  glory  of  the  Godhead  in  heaven  is  reflected  in  the 
humanity  of  man  upon  the  earth.  And  thus  the  infinite  and 
unapproachable  truth  and  splendor  of  the  Father  has  its  image 

*  The  seed-corn  of  Popery  and  Calvinism  seems  to  have  lost  no  time  in 
starting,  after  the  union  of  Church  and  State  was  begun  by  Constantine 
(a.d.  325).  The  first  germ,  in  fact,  of  the  Papal  supremacy  is  seen  in  the 
decree  of  the  Council  of  Sardica  (a.d.  347),  only  twenty-two  years  after, 
giving  an  appeal  to  Julius,  Bishop  of  Rome.  And  the  Papal  and  Calvinistic 
systems  respectively,  in  all  their  elements,  are  to  be  found  intellectually 
developed  and  theoretically  wrought  out  in  the  works  of  two  great  Latin 
fathers,  Leo  the  Great  (died  461)  and  Augustine  (died  430).  And  yet  these 
systems  were  brought  into  actual  existence  and  practical  development  in 
the  Church  only  in  the  course  of  centuries, — the  Papal  politically  by  Hil- 
debrand  (1083),  intellectually  systematized  by  Thomas  Aquinas  (1274),  and 
the  Calvinistic  intellectually  and  politically  hatched  out  by  John  Calvin 
(1564). 


REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM.  381 

and  reflection  here,  in  this  world,  in  man  born  therein  of  water 
and  of  the  Spirit,  through  the  Son. 

In  the  third  book  our  readers  will  find  the  examination  of 
the  most  controverted  texts  of  Scripture  connected  with  this 
doctrine.  Here,  also,  they  will  see  the  arguments  and  com- 
ments of  many  able  and  learned  men.  They  will,  in  this  part, 
see  how  perfectly  our  doctrine  is  the  doctrine  of  the  Scriptures, 
and  how  much  this  fact  is  conceded,  even  by  the  ablest  of  its 
opponents. 

And  here  we  would  enter  one  caveat.  On  looking  over 
the  whole  volume,  it  will  be  seen  that  everywhere  in  it  regen- 
eration is  discussed  Scripturally, — everywhere  the  doctrine  is 
supported  by  the  express  words  of  Holy  Writ.  Through  the 
whole  book  Scriptural  passages  are  cited  and  explained,  and 
Scripture  analogies  traced  out  and  delineated.  In  truth,  the 
doctrine  is  a  central  and  vital  doctrine  of  Holy  Writ.  It  is 
interwoven  with  the  whole  body  of  the  Scriptures ;  just  as  in 
man  the  nervous  system  is  coextensive  with  the  human  frame ; 
and  although  it  has  one  great  centre  and  one  great  trunk,  yet 
it  extends  a  connecting  fibre  to  every  muscle,  however  small 
or  however  remote ;  so  is  the  doctrine  of  regeneration  in 
Holy  Writ.  We  are  unwilling,  therefore,  to  put  it  exclusively 
on  what  are  called  the  proof-texts.  We  desire  that  its  Script- 
ural connections  may  be  seen  throughout  the  whole  volume, 
and  then  that  these  proof-texts  should  be  examined  in  refer- 
ence to  their  exegesis ;  that  the  reasons  why  we  understand 
and  believe  them  in  a  Church  sense  should  be  brought  forward 
broadly  and  distinctly,  and  as  distinctly  the  criticisms  of  those 
that  deny  that  sense. 

We  think  that,  upon  the  candid  reader,  the  result  of  this 
third  book  will  be  the  conviction  that  the  Scriptures,  in  their 
plain,  literal  sense,  assert  distinctly  our  doctrine,  and  that  the 
only  reason  why  men  deny  the  fact  is,  that  they  come  to  the 
Scriptures  with  preconceived  theories, — the  Calvinistic  or  the 
Methodist  system  occupying  their  minds  so  fully  as  to  ex- 
clude any  other  interpretation. 


382  REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM. 

Men  cannot  and  will  not  take  the  doctrine  that  asserts 
the  plain  words  of  Scripture  in  their  manifest  literal  sense,  be- 
cause they  are  preoccupied  with  antagonist  traditional  systems, 
which  are  popular  and  widespread,  and  yet  actually  deny  the 
doctrine  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  making  void  and  contradict- 
ing His  very  words. 

Finally,  we  would  say  to  the  children  of  the  Church :  We 
are  here,  in  this  land,  amidst  a  multitude  who  are  hostile  to  our 
system,  owning  to  false  tradition,  honest  but  misguided  teach- 
ers, and  strong  prejudices.  They  misconceive  and  misrepre- 
sent our  doctrine ;  honestly,  and  with  no  ill  intent,  but  from 
the  tradition  they  have  received.  They  are  violent,  bitter,  and 
unfair  when  they  speak  against  it  and  against  the  Church. 
Our  only  remedy  is  to  understand  clearly  what  our  own  doc- 
tine  is ;  what  our  own  standards  say  ;  what  meaning  their 
words  convey ;  how  the  doctrine  tells  upon  duty,  upon  life, 
upon  godliness.  For  we  have  with  us  the  very  words  and  the 
express  and  literal  sense  of  Holy  Writ, — the  doctrine  and  fact 
of  the  incarnation,  the  atonement,  and  mediation  of  Christ,  as 
our  ever-living  King,  our  prevailing  High  Priest,  our  Prophet, 
in  whose  teaching  is  all  truth, — the  doctrine  and  fact  of  the 
personal,  omnipresent  Spirit,  and  of  the  One  Holy  Catholic 
and  Apostolic  Church, — the  doctrine,  also,  that  man,  miserable 
and  sinful,  can  here,  upon  earth,  be  raised  up  to  the  glory  of  a 
son  of  God,  upheld,  during  his  course  in  this  world,  by  graces 
and  aids,  supernatural  and  heavenly ;  becoming  a  son  of  God, 
a  brother -in  the  flesh,  of  God  made  man;  having  upon  this 
earth  a  miraculous  and  supernatural  life,  Christ  dwelling  in 
him,  and  he  in  Christ. 

We  say,  therefore,  to  all  that  are  within  the  Church,  by 
Christian  baptism :  Understand  and  realize  these  glorious  facts. 
Assert  them  firmly,  yet  mildly,  and  deny  them  not.  Let  no 
sneers,  no  sophisms,  no  shrewd  arguments,  no  personal  influ- 
ences, no  eloquent  speeches  or  sermons,  deprive  us  of  the  fact 
and  sense  of  the  glorious  inheritance  which  we  have  from 
God  through  Christ,  that  through  Him  we  are  actually  and 


REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM.  383 

really  sons  of  God,  lifted  up  from  the  earth,  and  made,  through 
Him,  kings  and  priests,  even  here,  in  this  world  of  time  and 
space  ;  endowed  with  the  unspeakable  gift ;  j)artakers  of  the 
glory  that  shall  be  revealed  at  last,  in  the  manifestation  of  the 
sons  of  God.  Husbands  and  wives,  parents  and  children, 
brothers  and  sisters,  baptized  in  the  Church  with  the  baptism 
of  Christ,  let  us  thank  God  for  this  great  franchise,  and  look 
upon  one  another  in  the  light  of  its  glory.  Let  us  live  under 
its  light,  and  walk  in  faith,  understandingly,  in  the  new  state 
it  reveals,  the  new  privilege  it  confers,  the  new  sense  it  opens 
in  the  soul. 

For  since  Christ  our  Lord  came  in  man's  nature — since  He 
suffered  on  the  Cross  for  us,  and  ascended  to  His  Father's 
throne — man  can  be  born  of  God  in  this  world,  and  the  sphere 
of  that  his  new  being,  the  Church  militant,  exists  here  upon  the 
earth, — and  all  the  relations  of  human  life,  by  these  two  facts,  are 
exalted,  sanctified,  purified.  N^ay,  man's  nature  itself  has  new 
light  cast  upon  it,  a  new  meaning  given  to  it,  an  interpretation 
which  we  seek  for  in  vain  in  all  the  keen,  analytic  science  of 
the  Greek  philosophy,  or  the  synthetic  and  systematic  wisdom 
of  the  Roman  sages. 

To  the  children  of  the  Church,  therefore,  we  say  :  Under- 
stand for  yourselves,  in  all  the  relations  of  life  toward  God 
and  man,  the  doctrine  of  the  Scriptures,  of  the  Church,  of 
your  standards ;  hold  it  and  assert  it  firmly,  and,  above  all, 
live  by  it.  For  in  that  doctrine  there  is  the  root  and  centre  of 
a  Christianity,  personal  and  national,  so  grand  and  glorious,  so 
tender  and  affectionate,  so  holy  and  pure,  as  the  world  has  not 
seen  for  fourteen  hundred  years. 

For  the  Church  in  this  land,  free  from  bondage,  shall  in- 
crease and  grow,  through  Christ,  in  the  feeling  of  all  truth,  social 
and  scientific,  moral  and  Divine  ;  in  the  purity  and  holiness  of 
its  priesthood  and  its  people ;  in  general  zeal  and  faitli,  and 
individual  honor  and  truth.  And  thus  shall  the  strife  come  to 
an  end  which  in  Europe  has  been  so  long  waged  between  the 
individual  and  the  Church,  between  the  true  doctrine  of  the 


384  REGENERATION  IN  BAPTISM. 

value  of  personal  faith  and  the  equally  true  doctrine  of  the 
objective  blessings  given  by  the  Cliurch.  For  these  parties  in 
Europe,  and  their  descendants  and  disciples  here,  have  vehe- 
mently cried  out  one  against  the  other :  the  one,  that  personal 
faith  is  all  in  all,  and  the  Church  is  nothing ;  the  other,  that  tlie 
Church  is  everything,  and  faith  of  no  use  or  necessity  in  her 
blessings,  only  obedience.  But  we  see  in  this  Church,  in  this 
land,  the  coming  together  and  reconciliation  of  these  two  ex- 
tremes, because  the  Church  here  is  free  from  monarchic  and 
papal  domination  and  supremacy ;  and  therefore  it  is,  by  God's 
blessing,  in  the  state  of  the  earliest  and  holiest  Christianity. 
And  in  her  upward  and  onward  progress  in  holiness  and  purity 
and  living  faith  and  personal  zeal,  we  look  for  the  time  (it  may 
not  be  now,  but  it  is  fast  coming)  when  all  within  the  Cliurch 
shall  say,  "As  we  are  born  of  M^ater  and  of  the  Spirit,  so  are  we 
the  sons  of  God;"  and  all  outside  its  bounds  shall  say,  "We 
truly  see  that  the  children  of  the  Church  are  the  children  of 
the  kingdom,  the  sons  of  God,  for  in  them,  in  its  fulness  and 
completeness,  do  we  behold  all  the  Christian  morality  of  a  liv- 
ing faith." 

"  Therefore,  brethren,  we  are  debtors,  not  to  the  flesh,  to  live 
after  the  flesh.  For  if  ye  live  after  the  flesh,  ye  shall  die  :  but 
if  ye  by  the  Spirit  do  mortity  the  deeds  of  the  body,  ye  shall 
live.  For  as  many  as  are  led  by  the  Spirit  of  God,  they  are 
the  sons  of  God.  For  ye  have  not  received  the  spirit  of  bond- 
age again  to  fear ;  but  ye  have  received  the  spirit  of  adojytion 
as  sons,  whereby  we  cry,  Abba,  Father.  The  Spirit  itself 
beareth  witness  with  our  spirit,  that  we  are  the  children  of 
God  :  and  if  children,  also  heirs ;  heirs  of  God,  and  fellow  heirs 
with  Christ;  if  we  suffer  (and  feel,  aujiTida-^ofxtv)  together  with 
Him,  that  we  may  also  be  glokified  together  with  Him."  * 
*  Romans,  viii.  12-17. 


'  ■  • '  I 


t  ■   -.-     > 


